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Carrie Symonds gives speech at ‘birdwatching Glastonbury’

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Carrie Symonds gives speech at ‘birdwatching Glastonbury’

Carrie Symonds tonight tore into ‘cruel, sick and cowardly’ puffin trophy hunters in her first public speech since moving into Number 10 with boyfriend Boris Johnson.

The passionate conservationist coupled a £225 biodegradable dress with a pair of sturdy wellies at the annual Birdfair conference in Rutland, East Midlands, where she made the environmental rallying cry to a packed marquee. 

She recounted her disgust at seeing pictures of slaughtered blood-soaked puffins in the media just days after marvelling at the ‘glorious’ species of bird during a seaside trip with the Prime Minister. 

Since being catapulted into the public eye when it emerged she was dating Mr Johnson, the 31-year-old PR guru has used her platform to bang the drum for eco-campaigns such as reducing plastic pollution in oceans. 

And speaking at the event dubbed the ‘birdwatchers’ Glastonbury’, she said: ‘Why would anyone want to destroy something so beautiful, then stuff its poor lifeless body to keep as some kind of macabre trophy?

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Carrie Symonds tonight tore into ‘cruel, sick and cowardly’ puffin trophy hunters in her first public speech since moving into Number 10 with boyfriend Boris Johnson  

The passionate conservationist coupled a £225 eco-friendly floral dress with a pair of sturdy wellies at the annual Birdfair conference in Rutland, East Midlands 

Ms Symonds had reportedly only been due to attend as a guest on a panel event alongside BBC Springwatch presenter Chris Packham (right) and Dragons Den star Deborah Meaden (left) but was later given her own speaking slot

She recounted her disgust at seeing pictures of slaughtered blood-soaked puffins in the media just days after marvelling at the ‘glorious’ species of bird during a seaside trip with the Prime Minister (Iceland trophy hunters pictured)

‘A trophy is meant to be a prize, something you’re awarded if you’ve achieved something of merit that requires great skill and talent.

‘Trophy hunting is not that, it is the opposite of that. It is cruel, it is sick, it is cowardly and I will never, ever understand the motivation to do it.’  

Wearing a natural fabric dress from Liberty Garden Riding House – which does not contain pollutant microplastics – she spoke fondly of her recent trip with Mr Johnson to Bempton Cliffs, East Yorkshire, to see puffins.

Ms Symonds said: ‘So just last month I took my first trip to the stunning Bempton Cliffs.

‘If [Birdfair] is birdwatching’s Glastonbury then Bempton is like its cathedral – gannets, razorbills, guillemots, all soaring and screeching and diving with the majestic backdrop of those sheer chalk walls.

‘But like the average Bempton newbie, what I really wanted to see was a puffin.

‘We spent hours looking. I was on tiptoes leaning over the cliffs, craning my neck, peering through my binoculars, desperately trying to glimpse one.

Speaking at the event dubbed the ‘birdwatchers’ Glastonbury’, she said: ‘Why would anyone want to destroy something so beautiful, then stuff its poor lifeless body to keep as some kind of macabre trophy?’

Ms Symonds wears an eco-friendly sustainable dress as she arrives to address the ‘birdwatching Glastonbury’ this afternoon

‘We were about to give up, about to go home. But suddenly – there he was. And when I saw that puffin in all its glory, I was just delighted.

‘He was so tiny that at first I thought it was a baby, a puffling. But when he turned his head and I caught a glimpse of that rainbow bill – I knew I’d found the right guy.

Leading by example: Carrie’s eco-friendly lifestyle 

Sustainable clothes: Speaking at the Birdfair environmental conference tonight, Carrie wore a biodegradable dress.

The garment, from Liberty Garden Riding House, is made from natural fabric which does not contain microplastics that could pollute the oceans.

Ditch plastic bottles:  The passionate ocean conservationist revealed that she no longer uses plastic bottles but instead opts for reusable beakers.

Bag for life: She said that she always tries to remember to bring a canvass bag to the supermarket, rather than using the plastic ones provided at the checkouts. 

‘It was magic, something I’ll never forget. And then, just a couple of weeks later I saw another puffin. But this one wasn’t waddling happily in and out of his burrow.

‘No. He was pictured in a newspaper, his bloodstained body lined up alongside dozens of others, all slaughtered by so-called ‘trophy hunters’ on trips to Iceland.

‘I ask you, why would anyone want to shoot a puffin?’

On arrival, Ms Symonds beamed as she met fellow panellists Chris Packham and Dragons Den star Deborah Meaden – who was pictured roaring with laughter as she and Ms Symonds shared a joke. 

She had reportedly only been due to attend as a guest on a panel alongside BBC Springwatch presenter Packham, who was pictured wearing a bright pink t-shirt emblazoned with the Extinction Rebellion logo. 

But she was bumped up to having her own speaking slot and was set to address the event in her capacity as an ocean conservationist.   

Carrie on laughing! Symonds smiles with guests at the Rutland-based birdwatching event this afternoon

Ms Symonds shares a joke with Dragon Deborah Meaden who roars with laughter in the entrance to a marquee at the Birdfair event

Ms Symonds was bumped up to having her own speaking slot and was set to address the event in her capacity as an ocean conservationist

The Prime Minister’s girlfriend perused the food stalls in the marquee at the Birdfair event in Rutland this evening

BBC wildlife presenter Packham told the Daily Mail that he was ‘very pleased’ that Ms Symonds was speaking out against the trophy hunting of puffins. 

Speaking on the Stand Up For The Earth panel, she said: ‘There is no escaping the fact that politicians, business leaders and journalists have a gigantic responsibility to make the right decisions, to change the way they do business and report the truth about what is happening in the world.

‘But so too do scientists, naturalists, campaigners, birdwatchers and all of us individuals. We all share this crowded little planet… 

‘And that means we all need to make the little changes that will help make a big difference.

‘I’m far from perfect, but I try to remember to take a canvas bag to the supermarket, take my reusable bottle rather than buy plastic, and tonight I’m wearing a sustainable dress.

‘I can’t always do that, and I’m learning and I’m trying.’

Ms Symonds said that she has ditched plastic bottles in favour of reusable ones and encouraged the crowd to do the same

She spoke at the event in a natural fabric dress from Liberty Garden Riding House – which does not contain pollutant microplastics

Tim Appleton, founder of the birdwatching conference, said that the event has raised £40 million for global conservation projects in the 31 years that it has been running and described it as the ‘biggest ecotourism fair in the world’.

He said: ‘We’re absolutely over the moon that Carrie is supporting us and we hope she will continue supporting us and conservation for many years to come.’  

Ms Symonds apparently agreed to attend the event after meeting one of the organisers, Dominic Dyer, at an anti-whaling protest this year. 

She had attended that demonstration alongside Stanley Johnson, Boris’s father. 

Ms Symonds and the new Prime Minister were pictured laughing as they sat next to each other at a reception for frontline hospice staff at an event in Number 10 on Monday.

Mr Johnson, 55, was also pictured standing behind the 31-year-old with his hands on his hips as she chatted to a group of women at the event. 

Ms Symonds appears amused as she chats with other festival revellers at Birdfair this afternoon ahead of her speech

Only last week, Packham called on new the Prime Minister and senior environment ministers to act to protect Hen Harriers

Since being catapulted into the public eye when it emerged she was dating Mr Johnson, Ms Symonds has used her platform to bang the drum for eco-campaigns such as reducing plastic pollition

No 10’s official Twitter account published photographs from the event, with the caption: ‘PM Boris Johnson hosted a reception at Downing Street to thank hospice staff for their hard work, dedication and compassion.’

Miss Symonds tweeted it was ‘such a privilege to meet so many inspiring people who do such incredible work’. 

The former Tory press chief, who appears to have dyed her hair a darker shade, has largely kept out of the spotlight since the Prime Minister moved into Downing Street. 

She was photographed watching his first speech as PM on the steps of No 10 last month, and was then spotted enjoying an evening out with her boyfriend at an Italian bistro. 

However, no official photographs of the pair together had been released until this week. 

The couple had been living together at Miss Symonds’s flat in Camberwell, south London, before Mr Johnson won the keys to Downing Street. 

That flat was at the centre of a political firestorm after Ms Symonds’ neighbours recorded the couple having a row.

Mr Johnson repeatedly refused to talk about what had happened during the row. He told the BBC during the Tory leadership campaign it was ‘simply unfair’ to ‘drag’ his loved ones into politics.  

A photograph of the event released by Downing Street showed Ms Symonds laughing while the Prime Minister addressed the other women sitting on her table

Carrie Symonds and Boris Johnson were pictured together for the first time inside Downing Street on Monday

Mr Johnson and Ms Symonds are now the first unmarried couple to live in Downing Street and reside in the expansive flat above No 11.

Miss Symonds worked for Chancellor Sajid Javid when he held the local government brief, as well as for John Whittingdale during his time as Culture Secretary. Following a brief spell as an adviser to Tory MP Zac Goldsmith, she was appointed to the strategic role of Conservative communications chief.

She resigned as director of communications for the Conservatives last year before becoming a senior adviser at Oceana, a US-based environmental campaign group, working with its marketing operation in London. 

She grew up in East Sheen, south-west London, and attended the prestigious Godolphin and Latymer School. 

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