Owen Paterson
Owen Paterson was appointed Secretary of State for the Environment in September 2012.[1]
He was previously Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the incoming coalition cabinet appointed in 2010.[2]
Lobbying against the EU insecticides ban
In April 2013 The Observer revealed that in a letter released under freedom of information rules, Paterson had told the chemicals company Syngenta that he was 'extremely disappointed'by the European Commission's proposed ban on neonicotinoids. Paterson assured Syngenta that 'the UK has been very active' in opposing the ban and 'our efforts will continue and intensify in the coming days'.[3]
According to documents seen by the Observer Syngenta had even threatened to sue individual European Union officials involved in publishing an European Food Safety Authority report that found the pesticides posed an unacceptable risk to bees. [4]
Britain's and Paterson's lobbying was unsuccessful; the Commission passed the landmark ban on 29 April 2013 to widespread public approval.
Affiliations
External resources
- guardian.co.uk, Environment secretary's letter to Syngenta on insecticide ban proposals, (obtained under FOI Act) Monday 29 April 2013 10.41 BST
Notes
- ↑ Juliette Jowit, Shiv Malik and Haroon Siddique, Cabinet reshuffle: who has moved so far?, guardian.co.uk, 4 September 2012.
- ↑ Her Majesty’s Government, Number10.gov.uk, accessed 12 May 2010.
- ↑ guardian.co.uk, Environment secretary's letter to Syngenta on insecticide ban proposals, (obtained under FOI Act) Monday 29 April 2013 10.41 BST
- ↑ Damian Carrington, Insecticide firms in secret bid to stop ban that could save bees, the Observer, 29 April 2013
- ↑ Sam Coates & Francis Elliot, The Times, July 17, 2008 ['Tory MPs' use of staff budgets to pay for PR advice 'against rules]
