Rishi Sunak urged to heed criticism on climate after Zac Goldsmith quits

Tory peer claims PM uninterested in environment but No 10 suggests exit had alternative motive

Rishi Sunak is embroiled in an extraordinary standoff with Zac Goldsmith after the Tory peer quit the government, accusing Sunak of being “simply uninterested” in the environment and the climate emergency.

Lord Goldsmith resigned as a Foreign Office minister with a highly personal attack, warning that voters would punish the prime minister at the polls for his “apathy in the face of the greatest challenge we have faced”.