02 February 2006 | Anusha Bradley

Conservative MPs cannot agree whether to boycott Cadbury for importing "small quantities" of French sugar or to boost their chocolate consumption.

Seven Tories, lead by Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, last week signed an early day motion in the House of Commons expressing their disappointment at the "company's failure to use solely English sugar".

But two fellow MPs, Stephen Crabb and David Jones, urged members to "eat more of its excellent products". They praised Cadbury for its long history of trading responsibly and its policies and standards on human rights and ethical sourcing.

Cadbury, which sources 90 per cent of its sugar from Britain, said the issues had been "overplayed".

A spokesman told SM: "Like any business, we need to explore other suppliers to maintain costs and remain competitive."

He added that Cadbury's sister companies in Europe import "far more" sugar from British Sugar than the UK business imports from France.

"If firms only bought from their own country, British Sugar would have fewer orders."

Kawczynski sits on the Environmental Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee which supports the opening up of the EU sugar market.

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