GREEN campaigners in Hartley Wintney have been quizzing the Conservative candidate for North East Hampshire on his views on the environment.

Ranil Jayawardena met a group of villagers in the coffee shop by St John’s Church, in Fleet Road, as part of Hope for the Future – a Christian-inspired campaign to pressure politicians on green policies.

Mr Jayawardena was handed an envelope containing 25 letters from residents, including three from pupils at the village’s Greenfields Junior School, calling for action on climate change.

The Tory candidate, who wants to succeed James Arbuthnot as North East Hampshire MP at the General Election next year, told the meeting he wanted Britain to produce less pollution.

Meeting organiser Ruth Jarman said Mr Jayawardena expressed support for offshore renewable and nuclear energy, but was opposed to wind farms.

After the meeting, she said: “There seems to be no question in Ranil’s mind that climate change is real, serious and that our country has a moral obligation to act for the sake of future generations, poor countries and wildlife.

“Of course, we didn’t see eye-to-eye on everything – most importantly on how rapidly we need to decarbonise our economy, and whether nuclear and new technologies would do this in time – but we felt confident he listened to our views and will read and pass on the 25 letters that we gave him.”