The Government has now announced that bee-killing neonicotinoids won’t be used on British crops after all, which will come as a great relief to the many constituents who have contacted me about this in recent weeks.

These pesticides were banned by the EU and then the UK due to their hugely damaging effect on bee populations, and other pollinating insects, but the Government reversed this ban in January due to forecasted damage on sugar beet crops. This damage ultimately did not take place over the winter, and the ban has, thankfully, now been reinstated.

I welcome this announcement from the Government, but this U-turn once again shows the lack of understanding and care shown towards nature and the environment in their policy making. Bees play an essential part in our food cycle, and the use of neonicotinoids should never have been on the table.

‘Bee killing’ pesticide now will not be used on UK sugar beet fields.