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Honey Bee Health

It is extremely good to see a respectable sprinkling of MPs who want to talk about honey bee health at 9.30 on a Wednesday morning. It is several months since we last met to discuss this topic in a debate organised by the hon. Member for Norwich, North (Dr. Gibson), and we were all pleased that he managed to do that. A lot has happened since then, and it is important to record what has happened and to start discussing what needs to happen next. Before I proceed, however, let me say just one thing. During that debate, a fair number of my parliamentary colleagues—marvellous though they all are—showed an unfortunate weakness for what I can only call weepingly awful bee puns. [Interruption.] They are coming already. I simply say this to colleagues on both sides of the Chamber: "If you feel the urge coming on, don't do it. Have a sip of water, stiffen your backbone and hold back on the instinct if you possible can."