Slash Brussels red tape? Sunak dug in his heels and refused, claim Cabinet ministers

TWO Cabinet ministers have accused Rishi Sunak of resisting key post-Brexit reforms to cut red tape.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, who are both supporting Liz Truss, claimed that Mr Sunak ‘dug his heels in as chancellor’ over ditching restrictive EU rules.

They said he appeared unwilling to scrap the ‘Solvency II’ rule that makes it harder for pension funds to invest in illiquid assets like infrastructure.

The pair also claimed he wanted to give way to the EU over the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, designed to scrap post-Brexit trade checks blamed for driving a wedge between the province and the rest of the UK.

They wrote of Mr Sunak in The Daily Telegraph: ‘He talks about cutting EU regulations yet dug his heels in as Chancellor against efforts to do exactly that and realise the benefits of Brexit.

‘We both saw it in Cabinet, including resisting reforms to the EU’s Solvency II regulation... and being backward-leaning on moving ahead with legislation to fix... the Northern Ireland Protocol.’

A Sunak campaign source said it was ‘categorically wrong’ he had slowed efforts to ditch the EU solvency rule.

The source added Mr Sunak backed standing up to Brussels, while noting a trade war could have been damaging.

Asked if he had spoken to Boris Johnson since he resigned, Mr Sunak said: ‘I’ve messaged and called but unsurprisingly he hasn’t returned my calls.’