Britain’s Wildlife Trusts have criticised the Government for continuing to use a pesticide that threatens a dwindling bee population.

Farming Minister Mark Spencer gave the go-ahead for farmers to use the pesticide Thiamethoxam on sugar beet.

It’s the fourth year in a row the ministry has allowed usage.

Thiamethoxam has been banned in the UK since 2018 but has been approved for use on sugar beet crops.

It is lethal – even the smallest trace can disrupt a bee’s ability to navigate and reproduce.

A third of Britain’s crops are pollinated by insects.

Barnaby Coupe, land use policy manager at The Wildlife Trusts, said:

“This is a deathblow for wildlife, a backwards step in evidence-based decision making, and a betrayal of farmers who are producing food sustainably.

“This decision comes as the Government is still not on track to meet its own environmental commitments.

“It is shocking that politicians are still choosing to support short-term corporate profits at the expense of nature and the long-term sustainability of farm businesses.

“It is entirely possible to produce food in a way that helps rather than harms nature.

“Farmers know the use of this chemical is not a long-term solution.”

Mr Coupe added: “More than 15,000 people wrote to Mr Spencer asking him to provide more support for farmers, healthy wildlife, and unpolluted soils and rivers.

“[The response] is another year of banned, toxic chemicals.”