Half of England is owned by less than 1% of the population

Research by author reveals corporations and aristocrats are the biggest landowners

Half of England is owned by less than 1% of its population, according to new data shared with the Guardian that seeks to penetrate the secrecy that has traditionally surrounded land ownership.

The findings, described as "astonishingly unequal", suggest that about 25,000 landowners - typically members of the aristocracy and corporations - have control of half of the country.