Half of Tory backbench MPs have joined party’s green group

Conservative Environment Network has 133 MPs in its ranks, while Net Zero Scrutiny Group has 19 publicly named members

Half of Conservative backbench MPs are now in the party's green group, after the former minister Jeremy Hunt announced he had joined.

The Conservative Environment Network (Cen) now has 133 MPs, leading green-minded Tories to claim that those who do not want net zero are in the minority. There are 360 sitting Conservative MPs, but 95 are government ministers or whips and therefore ineligible to join Cen.