EAST Lancashire Euro MPs have been slammed for helping to give Britain a reputation in Europe for dragging its feet over the need for environment improvements.

A report by Friends of the Earth on the voting records of MEPs over the past five years has put the UK bottom of an EU-wide 'green league table'.

A study of 10 key votes on environmental issues put MEPs from Denmark, Sweden and Austria top of the poll as Europe's green crusaders, but revealed that the majority of UK Euro-MPs voted against most measures intended to benefit the environment.

Three Conservatives representing people locally were singled out for criticism by Friends of the Earth for records that placed them among the worst 12 of the European Parliament's 626 members.

North West MEPs Jacqueline Foster, Richard Inglewood and Den Dover voted against all but one of the 10 "touchstone" measures identified by environmental campaign groups WWF, RSPB and Greenpeace as well as FoE.

They failed to back green proposals for votes involving agriculture, air pollution, chemicals, GM food, liability, nuclear power, recycling, renewables, and transport.

Only East Lancashire MEP Chris Davies escaped the criticism, with a record described as "exemplary". The study ranked Liberal Democrats alongside Britain's two Green MEPs as having the best voting performance in the European Parliament.

Campaigners are concerned about the approach being taken by the country's representatives because 90 per cent of all the UK's environmental laws are made at a European level.

MEPs have equal decision-making powers with national ministers in this field.

The findings of the study were released just days after a report by Jonathon Porritt, chairman of the Sustainable Development Commission, emphasised that Britain had to do better if it was to deal with mounting environmental concerns.