Advisers warn Brexit may prevent progress

BREXIT could mean borders become a “barrier to social progress”, a group of government advisers have warned.

The Standing Council on Europe was set up by the First Minister in the wake of the EU referendum result.

Chaired by Professor Anton Muscatelli, it brings together specialists in legal, European, financial, business and diplomatic matters.

Nicola Sturgeon said: “The EU guarantees everyone in Scotland rights we take for granted, from rights to free speech, religion, and non-discrimination, to social protections such as the right to paid holiday, maternity leave or limits to working hours.

“Legislation in these areas is reserved to Westminster and there are real fears a UK Government outside the single market will seek a race to the bottom and erode these rights that have been built up over decades.

“The Standing Council today considered these issues and discussed how we can maintain our rights, and potentially enhance protections in the future, while maintaining Scotland’s ability to engage and influence the countries around us on these important matters.”

Alan Miller, former chairman of the Scottish Human RightsCommissionandtheEuropean Network of National Human Rights Institutions, said: “With Brexit, we cannot and must not regress. We need to raise public awareness of the risks otherwise we could be on a path to an age where national borders act as a barrier to social progress.” IT is The Herald’s policy to correct errors as soon as we can and all corrections and clarifications will usually appear on this page.

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