But Tories also believe the U-turn highlights weaknesses in the No 10 operation. Senior MPs, who complain about a repeated failure to conduct due diligence on government plans before they are launched, hope the arrival of Andrew Cooper as the new director of strategy will avoid a repeat of such mistakes.
In under three months the sell-off had united organisations and individuals across the political divide who were concerned by loss of public access, the threat of development and damage to wildlife.
Groups as diverse as the Socialist Workers party, the Greens, the forestry industry, horse riders and mountaineers have all rejected the idea outright, mostly fearing that the safeguards for access and wildlife would not be adequate.
More than 100 celebrities, including the archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Judi Dench, Ken Livingstone, Richard E Grant and Dame Vivienne Westwood, signed a letter opposing the sale.
Government feet grew even colder last month after Dame Fiona Reynolds, director of the 3 million-strong National Trust, said the sale was a potential disaster for Britain and offered to step in if necessary to acquire important forests and hold them in perpetuity for the nation. Senior figures in the government are known to be nervous of the power of the trusts huge membership.
A Commons debate then showed growing unease among MPs, with seven coalition MPs rebelling and many others abstaining.
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