Professor Lesley Torrance, executive director of science at the James Hutton Institute said that although gene editing worked, it would take time for the public and policy makers to accept it.

She said: “Understanding how traits are controlled in crops is crucial to addressing the very real threats posed to our future food security. We need to develop crops quickly which can adapt and are resistant to climate change and pests and whose cultivation is more environmentally friendly.

“Gene editing is an important tool that we mustn’t ignore as we know it works. However, we acknowledge that it has and will take time for the public and some policy makers to accept it though obviously we have now seen a change in the EU’s stance on this.

"Regardless of technique, we still need the genes to use in breeding to identify them and so we work on wild species to identify new resistances and to deploy them.

“The application of gene editing may result in crops which are easier to grow, more climate positive, require less use of biocides and fertiliser and potentially more economically viable. It will be up to the consumer to weigh up the merit of these different approaches and we need to do the science and provide the evidence that helps with those decisions.”