Chris Packham is banned from speaking at Britain’s shooting festival over fears he faced violence

The BBC’s Chris Packham was banned from speaking at Britain’s biggest shooting festival due to concerns that he would be at risk of ‘violence from shooters’.

The Springwatch presenter was due to appear at the Game Fair with fellow animal rights campaigner Mark Avery.

But yesterday he revealed that his planned debate was cut from the event because of his ‘extremist’ views.

In an interview with Mirror Online, Mr Packham said: ‘It appears the Countryside Alliance, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation and the Game Conservation and Wildlife Trust lobbied organisers and told us they did not want us to go. They got us banned, why’s that?

He added: ‘I think it’s because they’re terrified of the truth being told on their own patch, and they keep being found out.’

The 58-year-old environmental campaigner also said that a leaked email between pro-shooting chiefs said ‘if Mark [Avery] were to attend we might be at risk from ‘violence from shooters’.  

Mr Packham later tweeted an updated that the hosts could not ‘stomach too many truths being told on home turfs’.

The 58-year-old environmental campaigner also said that a leaked email between pro-shooting lobbyists said ‘if Mark [Avery] were to attend we might be at risk from ‘violence from shooters’

But the British Association of Shooting and Conservation (BASC) shot back at these claims by stating that Mr Packham was planning to use the event for ‘propaganda purposes’. 

In a statement from a BACS spokesman ‘Charlie Jacoby, of Fieldsports TV, has said he believes that Chris Packham is involved in a BBC Panorama programme called something like ‘Slaughter on the Grouse Moors’. 

‘To that end, it’s safe to assume Packham was coming to the Game Fair for propaganda purposes, not for balanced debate.’ 

Mr Packham later tweeted an updated that the hosts could not ‘stomach too many truths being told on home turfs’

The BBC denied that the Springwatch presenter was going in ‘any BBC capacity whatsoever’. 

The BACS spokesman added: ‘It is right that The Game Fair does not give a platform for an extremist like Chris Packham to air his anti-shooting views. 

‘Mr Packham uses his celebrity status granted to him by his position with the BBC to misrepresent the facts about shooting and its clear value to the environment and conservation.’ 

The Game Fair declined to comment.