Ministers allow banned bee-killing pesticide to be used for third year running

‘It is inexcusable to see England falling so far behind the EU on preventing such a detrimental impact on biodiversity,’ say critics

One teaspoon of thiamethoxam could kill over a billion bees, says expert (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Sugar beet farmers will be allowed to use a banned bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticide this year – for the third year in a row – the government has decided.

Farming minister Mark Spencer made the decision to allow use of thiamethoxam in England under an emergency exemption, just days after the EU outlawed such action.

A single teaspoon of thiamethoxam, which is banned in both the UK and the EU, is toxic enough to kill 1.25 billion bees, according to Professor Dave Goulson, one of the UK’s leading insect experts.