If there was any doubt whether paying for good website design in Kingston was worth it, the latest blunder on the government’s own page should put that to rest, as its most recent error has been sending innocent users to an escort page by mistake.
People looking up the Bees’ Needs campaign on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) webpage found themselves on a very different website when clicking on the ‘find out more’ tab.
Instead of finding out how to help pollinating insects – including planting flowers that are good for pollination – they were sent to an external website.
This site includes hundreds of UK addresses, which, when clicked on, take the visitor to an escort site.
Defra released a statement about the blunder, saying the link was accurate when it was first published in 2014. However, the domain owner has since changed it.
“We are working hard to support our bees and other pollinators – as these species are essential for pollinating crops and, in turn, human survival,” a spokesperson stated.
It was added that the Bees’ Needs campaign “brings together conservation groups, farmers, beekeepers to promote good practical advice so we can all do more to provide suitable habitats for bees”.
The error on the site has since been amended, and visitors are now asked to search for the Bees’ Needs site themselves.
The Bumblebee Conservation Trust now runs the campaign, which includes an annual event in July aimed at raising awareness of pollinators. Let’s hope this website’s links work more accurately than Defra’s!
