The U.K. government has rejected the science behind a European Union decision to ban neonicotinoid pesticides due to their impacts on bees and other pollinators.

The stance is in contrast to a recommendation from the Environmental Audit Committee report on Pollinators and Pesticides, but it acknowledges that it must implement the European Commission ban in the U.K.

However, the response highlights work the government be doing ahead of the 2015 Europe-wide review of the environmental, agricultural and economic effects of the moratorium.

Committee chair Joan Walley MP expressed disappointment with the rejection, as well as the government's decision not to implement a recommended monitoring scheme for insect pollinators.

"I am disappointed that the Government has not accepted the great weight of scientific evidence that points to the need for the ban on these pesticides in line with the precautionary principle," she said in a release.

"The Government acknowledges that it must implement the EU wide moratorium in the UK, but it is still refusing to acknowledge the case for a ban on these products being used in people’s gardens.

"There is no justification for people continuing to use these products on their Dahlias when they could be having a detrimental effect on pollinator populations. Suspending the sale of neonicotinoids for home use would create an urban safe haven for bees."

Last month, crop protection company Syngenta filed a lawsuit against the European Commission over the decision.

Photo: Fotolia, Darios44

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