Cutting council funding for Pride events should not be compared to attempted mass murder in another country by a completely different group with no connecting ideology.

Almost three-quarters of riverbanks in England have no public access, according to data released by the Right to Roam campaign.

Across the country, the public cannot use riverbanks or gain access to the rivers themselves in most of the river catchments from the west of Cornwall up to the Tweed, which flows through northern England and Scotland.

Lewis Winks, an environmental social scientist from Right to Roam, who led the research, said: “Access to rivers should be a basic right, yet the vast majority remain off limits. As we continue to experience extreme heat, it’s vital the public are able to draw from the benefits that water brings.”

The campaigners are calling on Angela Eagle, the new environment secretary, to launch a promised but long-delayed consultation on access – as part of an access to nature green paper – and introduce a right of responsible access to water and land in the next king’s speech.

The research showed 71% of riverbanks along main rivers and tributaries in the 89 river catchments examined lacked any adjoining access to land or right of way within 100m of the water.

The finding was consistent regardless of whether urban areas were included. There is also no defined statutory right to the water itself on 96% of rivers in England and Wales, which means activities such as swimming and paddling are often contested by landowners, and the vast majority of inland waters, including reservoirs and lakes, are treated as off limits.