“Following lobbying from the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and British Sugar, a product containing the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam was sanctioned for emergency use on sugar beet seeds this year because of the threat posed by a virus.”
The EU banned most outdoor neonicotinoid use in 2018 to protect bees. England just approved one for sugar beet after lobbying from British Sugar. The government’s statement ends with “Protecting pollinators is a priority.” Not as high a priority as sugar beet, apparently.