New threat to ash trees as EU ‘idiots’ block import ban meaning those infected with fungal disease can be replanted in uncontaminated fields

• Owen Paterson condemned rule forcing ministers to halt import ban of ash trees
• Scientists are trying to breed a disease-resistant form amid fears over loss
• Before the 2012 ban, Britain imported ash plants from infected parts of Europe

Britain faces a new outbreak of the deadly tree disease ash dieback as a result of an ‘idiotic’ EU regulation, a former environment secretary has warned.

Owen Paterson condemned the new rule forcing ministers to halt the import ban on ash trees that he imposed nearly eight years ago to fight the fungal disease.

Internal restrictions to prevent trees in infected areas being moved to other locations within the UK have also been lifted as a result of the EU rule.

Britain faces a new outbreak of the deadly tree disease ash dieback as a result of an ‘idiotic’ EU regulation, a former environment secretary has warned (stock image) 

Scientists are trying to breed a disease-resistant form of the trees amid fears that the UK could lose 70 per cent of its ashes – around 70million in total.

The EU Plant Health Regulation took effect last month – just before Britain left the EU – and will be in force until the end of the Brexit transition period in December.

Before the October 2012 ban, Britain imported thousands of ash plants from infected parts of Europe.

The disease was first found in the UK on saplings at a nursery in Buckinghamshire that had 2,000 trees from Holland.

Before the October 2012 ban, Britain imported thousands of ash plants from infected parts of Europe (stock image) 

Mr Paterson said: ‘One of the huge advantages of Brexit will be getting full control of our borders and protecting the country from plant and animal diseases with vigorous, intelligence-led systems. 

‘To knowingly import diseased ash trees… seems completely idiotic. And there will be new, violent strains that could end up bringing fresh disease into the country. It is going to be tragic.’

Matt Elliot, of the Woodland Trust, said: ‘We are disappointed the new EU regulations have led to a relaxation in biosecurity. The big threat now is if a new and more aggressive strain of ash dieback comes into the EU.

‘With these new rules, that strain could spread quite easily.’ 

The Tree Council’s Jon Stokes urged people not to take advantage of the lifting of the ban ‘as there is no guaranteed disease-tolerant ash on the market yet’.

The disease was first found in the UK on saplings at a nursery in Buckinghamshire that had 2,000 trees from Holland (stock image) 

The new EU rule says national measures can only be used for ‘quarantine pests’ – diseases not already established in a territory. Since ash dieback is already rife in the UK, the Government has been forced to revoke its ban.

Despite this, it says it does not expect the resumption of imports from the EU to increase the rate at which the disease spreads. Imports of ash from outside the EU remain banned.

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: ‘Everyone who moves or imports regulated plants must comply with strict conditions and these protections will remain in force when we leave the EU.’

Britain’s native oaks are the latest tree species at risk from pests and disease, the Prince of Wales has warned. 

He told a conference at Kew Gardens, West London, the ‘appalling tragedy’ of lost trees was exacerbated by climate change.

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