As ministers prepare to make decision on application to lift the ban, pressure is building to keep neonicotinoids off Cambridgeshire’s fields this summer

Neonicotinoids have been restricted across the Europe Union since 2013 due to mounting evidence that they pose a risk to bees. Bees are responsible for pollinating two thirds of the food we eat. But the National Farmers Union (NFU) has applied to the government to lift the ban in some parts of the country. Ministers are currently considering their application.

Daniel Zeichner MP, who is vice president of the Cambridgeshire bee keepers association and a species champion for the Ruderal bumblebee took the pledge to oppose the lifting of the ban at a Parliamentary event organised by Friends of the Earth.

He said: “The message is loud and clear from people in Cambridge: keep the ban on bee harming pesticides.”

Sandra Bell, The Bee Cause campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “Bees are essential for pollinating our crops – we can’t afford to gamble with their future. The Government must keep these dangerous pesticides out of our fields.”