Mixed messages over canal sell-offs

There were mixed messages today over whether Britain's canal network could be broken up and sold off, as British Waterways confirmed a wide-ranging review into how the upkeep of 2,200 miles of inland waterways is funded.

BW said privatisation was an option. DEFRA told the Daily Telegraph it wasn't currently on the agenda.

Predator anglers will be watching to see whether a change in ownership will mean an end to the periodic zander culls carried out on the Midlands canal network.

Ministers have been told a sale could bring up to £1bn to the Treasury. But the powerful Inland Waterways Association said it was opposed to the move.