Zac Goldsmith: Michael Gove must be a monster to attack green policies

Zac Goldsmith, who resigned as international environment minister last month, accused the net zero secretary, Grant Shapps, of taking ‘backward steps’. Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock

Michael Gove is a “monster” if he continues to rubbish green policies while fully understanding the urgency of the climate crisis, and Grant Shapps, the energy and net zero secretary, is taking “backward steps”, Zac Goldsmith has said in his first major interview since leaving the government.

In a surprisingly frank conversation with the Guardian, the former international environment minister also conceded that Brexit – for which he voted – could be detrimental for the environment in the end if ministers continued to abandon climate commitments in the face of a rightwing resurgence in the Tory party.