Deadly disease could devastate UK plants and trees

EMILY BEAMENT

plants such as olive trees in parts of mainland Europe where it is already present, spreading to the UK.

Mr Gove wants the European Commission to take stronger action to halt the march of the disease, including more checks on high-risk plants as they are moved between countries.

If the EU does not take action, the UK could take steps to stop the arrival of Xylella in this country, including suspending imports of plants which carry the disease such as rosemary, lavender, olives, oleander and almond trees.

The disease has not yet reached the UK but if it did, the impact would be significant for the horticulture sector due to the restrictions that would need to be introduced, the Environment Department (Defra) said.

While it is difficult to predict which UK plants could be vulnerable to infection, experts are most concerned about a subspecies of Xylella which can survive in cooler climates and affect a wide range of hosts, including broadleaf trees such as oaks.

In a letter to the EU Commissioner for health and food safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis, Mr Gove said preventing further spread of Xylella was of “paramount importance” and welcomed the introduction of emergency legislation and a review into the issue.

But he wrote: “I am very concerned about the increase in findings in the EU, most recently in mainland Spain, which raises serious questions about the robustness of the EU’s present arrangements and the wisdom of allowing high risk species to move across borders unchecked.”