EU countries voted on Friday for a near-total ban on insecticides blamed for killing off bee populations, in what campaigners called a “beacon of hope” for the winged insects. /

British beekeeper told his order of baby Italian bees would be ‘destroyed’ if he tries to import them

The Italian bees will be used to help farmers pollinate valuable crops amid declining UK bee populations.

A beekeeper trying to bring 15 million bees into the UK says he has been told they may be seized and burned because of post-Brexit laws.

Patrick Murfet says he tried to import bees via Northern Ireland but was told they would be destroyed.

Fantastic news as countries across the European Union – including the UK – vote to ban the outdoor use of 3 bee-harming pesticides.

The UK has again approved the use of a bee-killing pesticide that is banned in the EU.

Ministers have approved the emergency use of neonicotinoids against the advice of their own experts in a move branded ‘unacceptable’ by environmental groups.

Importing bee packages and colonies directly from European countries is no longer allowed since the Brexit transition period ended and beekeepers are now feeling the effects.

Experts insist successes of Brussels’ €95bn programme could never be replicated by a UK-only substitute.

MEPs have the power to approve, amend or reject nearly all EU legislation. / So what have they achieved in this five-year term?

‘We need urgent action to restore the abundance of our insect populations, not broken promises that make the ecological crisis even worse,’ says Wildlife Trusts

REUL: Scant time remains to assess which former EU legislation to keep, amend or revoke – and the environment is likely to pay the price. / While we were EU members, the UK adopted some legislation created by the EU. Jacob Rees-Mogg called them “diktats” and promised that after Brexit we’d “take back control of our laws”. This is disingenuous: the UK was fully involved in drawing up EU law.

UK has not reciprocated after EU banned import of pot plant soil, in which some species can travel undetected. / Invasive species are increasingly likely to come to Britain because of lax post-Brexit trade rules, experts have warned.

The Wildlife Trusts is to take legal action against the UK government over its decision to allow a pesticide that is almost entirely banned in the EU.

A delivery of 15 million baby bees to the UK could "be sent back or destroyed" because of post-Brexit laws, the man trying to import them has said.

A British beekeeper was warned that his baby bees could be seized and burned if he tried to bring them into the UK because of Brexit rules.

Analysis from EU’s scientific risk assessors finds neonicotinoids pose a serious danger to all bees, making total field ban highly likely

The new charges are set to come into force at the end of the month and will mean higher food prices will be passed on to consumers, suppliers warn.