Weed killer cancer bill could hit £5bn

BAYER is facing legal claims from more than 13,400 people in the US that its weed killers cause cancer.

The German chemicals company was last month ordered to pay £62m to a pensioner who said Roundup weed killer caused his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

But it is feared the legal bill could spiral to as much as £5bn as a wave of other victims file lawsuits. The number of plaintiffs has jumped 20pc since January, when 11,200 were involved in legal action against Bayer.

The company bought Roundup and other glysophate-containing weed killers, such as Ranger Pro, when it took over US seed maker Monsanto in a mammoth £49bn merger last June.

It is fighting a third trial in California and expecting another four lawsuits to go to court later this year, but does not believe that its products are a cancer risk.