Press release

Defra found in breach of environmental law over bee-killing pesticide impacts on protected nature areas

02.07.2026

The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has found Defra’s decisions to authorise restricted bee-killing pesticides in 2023 and 2024 were in breach of environmental law, due to their failure to consider the impact on protected sites. 

The OEP carried out an investigation into possible serious failures by the department to comply with a number of environmental laws, concerning emergency authorisations for the use of a neonicotinoid. Lawyers from environmental NGO ClientEarth first raised the issue with the watchdog in November 2023, over the government’s approval of the use of ‘Cruiser SB’ on sugar beet seeds.
Cruiser SB poses a serious risk to some freshwater species and pollinators like honeybees. Reports by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Expert Committee on Pesticides expressed serious concerns about its active ingredient thiamethoxam, pointing out that even non-lethal doses could compromise pollinators' ability to forage and navigate. 
The findings have led to a commitment to update the assessment process, meaning that, among other steps, Defra and the HSE will now need to consult Natural England before approving future emergency authorisations of any pesticides which could have a harmful impact on protected sites. 
This marks a significant recognition of pesticides’ far-reaching health and environmental? impacts and means that – for the first time - emergency authorisations will now have to take into account the potential impact on protected sites at the time of authorisation. 
Cruiser SB, which is currently banned in Europe for its potential harmful effects on bees’ nervous systems, had previously been authorised annually in the UK for emergency use by the sugar beet industry since 2021. However, Defra have since proposed a permanent ban on neonicotinoids and last year, announced that Cruiser SB would not be reapproved for 2025. This marked a significant shift in direction of government policy, which environmental campaigners see as further bolstered by this latest development. 
ClientEarth Head of UK Kyle Lischak said: “Today’s announcement marks another hugely welcome step forward from the UK Government on neonicotinoids – the group of harmful pesticides that have been banned in the EU for years. As well as the direct impact on our struggling pollinators, we know these harmful chemicals can remain active in the soil for years, making their way into streams, rivers and protected areas – it’s only right that they are subject to proper scrutiny and regulation.”

ENDS 

Notes to Editors: 

Read the full announcement from the OEP here. 

  • The OEP investigation looked at Defra’s interpretation and application of the precautionary principle and compliance with nature conservation obligations set out in the Habitats Regulations 2017 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (WCA) when it considered granting emergency authorisations in 2023 and 2024. It also considered compliance with the duty to have due regard to the Environmental Principles Policy Statement (EPPS). 
  • Of six grounds of investigation, the OEP concluded that there had been failures to comply with environmental law in relation to four. These included: 
    • Failures to take proper account of the requirement to carry out an appropriate assessment of the authorisation’s implications for certain protected sites, and to take steps to understand and avoid or mitigate the known risk of harm to those sites, both requirements of the Habitats Regulations. 
    • It also found failures to take reasonable steps to further the conservation and enhancement of designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) features and consider whether the authorisations were likely to damage those sites under the WCA. 

 

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