Friends of the Earth has renewed pressure on Environment Secretary Owen Paterson, executing a publicity stunt at Defra offices and calling on the government to "Give Paterson the Boot."

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The demands are in response to new evidence of the environment secretary's refusal to engage on matters involving climate change. Paterson, widely suspected to deny humans' contribution to climate change, has turned down offers of briefings on climate science from Defra chief scientist Professor Sir Ian Boyd and the Met Office's chief Scientist.

During severe floods at the beginning of the year, it emerged that Defra had cut funding for climate change adaptation measures by 41 percent since Paterson assumed office, having risen by 20 percent under his predecessor Caroline Spelman. At the time, critics in the Green Party and Campaign group Greenpeace said "his total failure to recognise the risks of climate change" had led him to underestimate the risk of flooding in Southern England.

Yesterday, The Guardian reported on leaked correspondence between the Environment Agency and Defra in which Agency officials challenge claims made by the government over spending on flood defences.  The government has consistently claimed to be spending more on flood defences than ever before, but during floods in the South West, Channel Four's Fact Checker noted that the government's claims to be spending more on flood defences than their predecessors evolved over time as each distorted assertion was successfully challenged.    

The Environment Secretary also came in for heavy criticism over his response to the IPCC's fifth report on climate change last year, particularly the suggestion that climate change could be good for business in the UK. He also said "I think the relief of this latest report is that it shows a really quite modest [temperature] increase, half of which has already happened… I am rather relieved that it is not as catastrophic in its forecast as we had been led to believe early on and what it is saying is something we can adapt to over time."

Professor Kevin Anderson, Deputy Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research responded to the comments, "His view that we can muddle through climate change is a colonial, arrogant, rich person's view… Many people will die in the developing world where the changes will be felt the most and it is irresponsible and immoral to suggest that we as a species can adapt to climate change."

The World Health Organisation estimates that, currently, 150,000 deaths each year around the world are related to the effects of climate change and that this will grow as changes become more pronounced.

Fresh calls on the government to replace Paterson were made in response to evidence obtained by The Independent and FoE that the Environment Secretary turned down the offer of a briefing on climate change from Met Office chief scientist Professor Dame Julia Slingo just days before the IPCC report was released and his assessment of the findings was widely condemned.

Friends of the Earth dumped 200 muddy wellingtons outside Defra headquarters in London on Wednesday. Campaigners displayed a banner bearing the message "Give Paterson the boot."

The protesters said their stunt should have extra resonance for Paterson, given the reaction to his visit to the flooded Somerset Levels in January. Locals reacted furiously when the environment secretary arrived in Somerset without wellies, did not engage with members of the public and offered no assistance to those affected beyond promising a consultation.

The charity's climate campaigner Guy Shrubsole commented, "It's simply not credible for a man who doesn't believe in man-made global warming to be put in charge of protecting the country from climate change. Owen Paterson thinks we can all just relax and adapt to climate change. He should try telling that to the thousands of people who had to wade in their wellies through filthy floodwaters during our wettest winter ever."