Preseli Pembrokeshire MP Stephen Crabb has welcomed moves by the UK government to now back a total EU-wide ban on harmful bee-killing pesticides.

Mr Crabb has previously written to Environment Ministers to support a ban following a high profile campaign joined by hundreds of Pembrokeshire residents who are concerned about the decline in bee populations.

Last week Environment Secretary Michael Gove announced that the UK will join other EU countries in pushing for a total ban of neonicotinoids, a pesticide which kills millions of bees and other insects.

This followed the publication of a new study carried out in Germany over a 25 year period which showed that the pesticide contributed to a damaging 75 per cent reduction of flying insects. These insects and bees are considered critical to the health of the natural world.

Stephen Crabb MP said: “I have been encouraged by the large volume of letters and emails I have received about the risks to bees and other insects from neonicotinoids. I am confident that these national letter writing campaigns have played a key role in the Government’s decision to back the ban. It goes to show that writing to your MP really can make a difference.

“In recent years I’ve written to ministers urging them to push for more work to be done to enable them to support an EU-wide ban. I have always been able to point to strong support for this from among my constituents in Pembrokeshire. Our county has a number of excellent local honey producers and the Pembrokeshire Beekeepers Association has an impressive 22 registered beekeepers and retailers.

“This is a further demonstration of the Government’s dedication to protecting wildlife and the environment.”