Toby Carvery has disgraced itself, but not for the first time

The admission by Toby Carvery that it chopped down an ancient oak tree overlooking one of its pubs has outraged anyone who cares about arboreal preservation, British heritage and decent food and drink – not necessarily in that order.

The Mitchells and Butlers group, which owns Toby Carvery, issued a statement saying that the tree in Whitewebbs Park in Enfield, north London, was felled because they ‘were advised by our specialist arboriculture contractors that it caused a potential health and safety risk’.

‘This was an important action to protect our employees and guests as well as the wider general public, to whom we have a duty of care,’ a spokesman for the pub chain insisted. But is that really the case?

It was believed that the tree was around 500 years old and ecological experts who had surveyed it as recently as 2024 suggested that it might have at least another half-century of life in it, if not longer.