Ministers have approved the emergency use of neonicotinoids against the advice of their own experts in a move branded ‘unacceptable’ by environmental groups.

Several hundred tonnes of beetroot have been left to rot on Will Woodhall's farm in central England due to Brexit.

They produce half the country’s sugar needs, but expect new trade deals to make their tough situation worse.

Sugar cane importer Tate & Lyle Sugars, which was very vocal in supporting the campaign to Leave the European Union, is set to benefit from several government measures. / Former Brexit secretary, David Davis, worked for Tate & Lyle Sugars for almost two decades.

The government has been warned to abandon its proposed tariff-free quota for raw cane sugar imports because of its potential to undercut UK growers.

East Anglia’s sugar beet farmers fear an “unjustified and unnecessary” new zero-tariff quota on imported cane sugar could expose them to unfair competition from less-regulated overseas growers.

The vote to leave the EU has sparked a clash between sugar-cane importers and farmers producing homegrown sugar beet. Is this bitter skirmish a microcosm of the big battles to come?