12pm: A beekeeper trying to bring 15 million bees into the UK has said he has been told they may be seized and burned because of post-Brexit laws.

Patrick Murfet wants to import the baby Italian bees for his Kent business and to help farmers pollinate valuable crops.

Since the end of the transition period, only queen bees can be imported into Great Britain, rather than colonies and packages of bees.

Mr Murfet said: ‘It’s a monumentally stupid situation for a country supposed to be standing on its own two feet and exporting around the world.’Mr Murfet is a ‘passionate beekeeper’ who has been in the industry for 20 years.

 His business Bee Equipment, near Canterbury, imports large numbers of bees from breeders in Italy every year.For decades, bees have been imported to replenish stocks, strengthen breeding lines and as early awakening pollinators for fruit and honey farms in the UK.

However, confusion over whether bees can be brought in via Northern Ireland has caused a legal headache.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it was aware of the issue and working with the devolved administrations to find a solution.

In an effort to avoid the import ban and abide by the new laws, Mr Murfet arranged for his usual importation of 15 million bees to arrive via Northern Ireland in April, but said he was told they may be destroyed if he tried.‘I don’t care what they think it should say. 

At present, the rules are clear that bees from Northern Ireland can enter the UK legally. If the law intended something else, they have not written it into legislation,’ he said.

He added that his inquiries into the reasoning behind the ban on imported bees had been met with silence, except an email reading: ‘Illegal imports will be sent back or destroyed, and enforcement action (criminal charges) will be brought against the importer.’

Mr Murfet said he had already paid a deposit of around £20,000 for the bees and stood to lose nearly £100,000 in costs alone if he could not bring them into the country.

He added: ‘So far, the department has overseen a policy whereby the UK is only one of three countries in Europe to see a decline in bee colonies.‘Fewer honeybees means less pollination, less top fruits and more imports.’