Hammersmith & Fulham Labour Councillors were left with red faces recently as scientists and regulatory bodies all over the world declared the locally banned weedkiller glyphosate perfectly safe.  

Answering a Written Parliamentary Question in the House of Lords, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “The European Food Safety Authority has reviewed the scientific data as part of the ongoing EU review of the approval of glyphosate and concluded that glyphosate meets all of the relevant safety standards. UK regulatory experts agree.”

The result of this needless ban has been £137,000 of local taxpayers’ money wasted on experimenting with alternative weedkillers. 

Commenting, H&F Conservative Leader Cllr Greg Smith said: “This sorry episode is just another example of the Labour Council jumping from vanity project to vanity project, with no regard for what the borough actually needs.  They are more interested in a quick headline than delivering basic council services well.

“This is made even worse given the enormous waste of taxpayers’ money they have spent in experimenting with alternative methods, which according to their own website amounts to little more than ‘hot steam’.

“Now regulatory bodies all over the world have declared glyphosate safe, they should return to using it immediately and get our roads and paths weed free once more.”

The NFU summarise the findings in these handy graphics: