David Cameron has scrapped controversial plans to sell-off England’s publically-owned forests. 

The scheme proposed the sale of the entire Forestry Commission’s 635,000-acre estate – essentially transferring power to the private sector.

But environment secretary Caroline Spelman has called the current consultation to a halt, admitting the government “got this one wrong”.

In a statement to MPs, Spelman said: “I would like to take full responsibility for the situation which brings me here.

“I’m sorry. We got this one wrong, but we have listened to people’s concerns.

She added: “One of the things we teach our children to do is say sorry. It is not a humiliation; it is my choice.”

The government had hoped the private sector, local residents and charities would purchase areas of woodland to create a ‘mixed model’ of ownership. 

But the consultation came in for widespread criticism, with campaign groups set up nationwide, and the issue debated on BBC Question Time, forcing Cameron into a high-profile U-turn. 

“We have heard enough from the consultation to know what to do,” a government source told the BBC.