The CBI has criticised Margaret Beckett's Whitehall ministry for its "heavy-handed" enforcement of environmental regulations.

In a report published on Monday, the business lobby group said the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) was unnecessarily adding to the £4 billion a year cost of complying with the rules.

Also singled out was the Environment Agency, although the report adds that both bodies have now begun to make improvements.

The report raises questions about DEFRA's ability to influence European policies, and points to the uncertainty over the EU's landfill directive as an example.

According to the CBI, delays in key decisions on the directive mean that even though it comes into force in the next fortnight firms remain uncertain about the disposal and treatment of waste.

Meanwhile, officials at the Eenvironment Agency are criticised for "being insufficiently sensitive to the competitive environment in which business operates".

"Firms are not trying to avoid their environmental responsibilities.  They want to comply but they also want the government to help them do the right thing in a cost-effective way," said John Cridland, CBI deputy director general.

"Too much environmental regulation is badly designed and poorly implemented.

"We are not anti regulation or against rigorous enforcement but we make no apology for complaining about sloppy laws that are implemented poorly and enforced in an ill-considered fashion."

However, the report says the £4 billion annual business cost of compliance compares well with other countries.

But looking to the future it urges the government to review all past and planned environmental policies to remove conflicting rules and cut out duplication.

"DEFRA's review of its sustainable development strategy gives us a great opportunity to take stock and find ways of using regulation more sensibly," said Cridland.

"We want to work constructively with the Environment Agency and the government but they have got to start delivering on business concerns."