ENVIRONMENTAL groups today demanded a meeting with the Scottish government after it slashed £5 million from a fund that aimed to restore nature and combat climate change.

Twelve organisations, including the heads of Royal Zoological Society Scotland (RZSS), RSPB Scotland, WWF Scotland, and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, signed a letter to acting Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin.

It said there was a “high degree of concern” over the impact of the cut, which the organisations had only learnt about through media reports.