Friends of the Earth launch their Bee-Cause campaign ahead of Clegg's speech

Environmental campaigners dressed as bees launched a "sting operation" against Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg today.

Friends of the Earth (FoE) supporters Stanley Knill and Tracey Pritchard raised the winged beasts' plight with the Liberal Democrat leader as he arrived to deliver a speech on green energy and growth in London's docklands.

Volunteer Mr Knill, 58, said: "We are launching our new campaign the Bee-Cause where we are highlighting the plight of the bee in all its various forms as an example of what's happening to the environment around us.

"We are endeavouring to involve people in the campaign, which is about taking responsibility for creating bee-friendly habitats in our homes.

"We understood Nick Clegg was doing a speech and we thought this was an opportunity to raise the profile of our campaign."

The pair swooped amid the glistening skyscrapers on the Canary Wharf estate moments before the Deputy Prime Minister arrived to address invited guests at KPMG on his plans to cut household energy bills and promote green fuel supplies.

Mr Knill and Ms Pritchard, FoE's head of fundraising and supporter development, wielded a large cardboard sign demanding £1.8 billion "for pollination services to British agriculture" - the value, they claim, "equivalent to the cost of replacing bees and other natural pollinates".