Environment Agency told staff to delay inspections to stay on target last year

Regulator accused of ‘massaging figures’ by telling staff to pause inspections at poorly performing waste sites until January

The Environment Agency told staff in September to stop inspecting the most poorly performing waste sites until January in order to meet corporate compliance targets, it can be revealed.

The regulator has been accused of “massaging the figures”, with an insider telling the Ends Report and the Guardian that a lack of resources means the body is “failing to do its statutory duty in a timely manner”.