Gerald Jones has added his name to a growing list of MPs who are opposed to lifting of the ban on bee harming pesticides.

As ministers prepare to make decision on application to lift the ban, pressure builds to keep neonicotinoids off our fields this summer

Neonicotinoids have been restricted across Europe 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.

Gerald took the pledge to oppose the lifting of the ban at a Parliamentary event held this week, organised by 38 Degrees and Friends of the Earth. MPs heard new evidence from scientists and from a Lincolnshire farmer who had stopped using these pesticides before the ban.

Speaking after the event, Gerald, said:

The message is loud and clear from people in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney: keep the ban on bee harming pesticides. I have listened to their concerns and I’ll be making my opposition very clear in parliament to any plan to lift the ban.”

Amy Lockwood, Campaign Manager at 38 Degrees, said:

“38 Degrees members have come together – in our hundreds of thousands – to send a clear message to the government: the British people don’t want the ban on bee killing pesticides to be lifted.”

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.”

You can find out more from Friends of the Earth’s campaign by visiting their website or following them on Twitter or Facebook.