British food firms successfully lobbied to defer £1.7bn plastic packaging tax

Exclusive: New scheme to improve recycling rates and tackle pollution was pushed back by Tories after industry complaints

Lobbyists for Britain’s biggest food brands successfully pushed for a £1.7billion packaging tax to be deferred, Democracy for Sale can reveal.

The fees for a new scheme to improve recycling rates and tackle plastic pollution were due to be imposed this month, but were delayed for a year by the last Tory government after the industry complained about the …