Ministers demand City of London stop Hampstead pond swimming
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- Environment ministers Mary Creagh and Emma Hardy wrote to the City of London demanding it stop people swimming in a protected pond on Hampstead Heath, after viral social media footage showed wildlife being disturbed during a 35C heatwave.
- The ministers' letter, sent to Gregory Jones KC, chair of the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen's Park committee, cited the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which protects all wild bird nests and eggs and carries unlimited fines and up to six months in prison per offence.
- One viral video showed a swan poking an unhatched egg with its beak after it fell into the water during the chaos; coots, moorhens and swans were seen guarding eggs and young as 'hordes of splashing revellers' ignored existing signs banning swimming.
- The City of London, which owns Hampstead Heath, called the scenes 'utterly appalling', and ministers said they were 'deeply concerned' by the disturbance to wild chicks, describing the swan watching the fallen egg as 'truly heart-wrenching'.
- The RSPB said it was 'a crucial time of year for breeding birds which just want to nest and care for their young in peace' and urged swimmers to use authorised, lifeguarded spaces rather than nature reserves.
Why it matters: Two government ministers are invoking the criminal-penalty provisions of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to pressure the City of London into enforcement at one of the capital's busiest open spaces, turning a viral TikTok moment into a formal legal demand. The dispute puts central government's conservation mandate directly against the City of London's permissive management of the heath, with London recording its hottest day on record at 35C as the flashpoint.
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