Hundreds more EU laws found that need repealing

PLANS for a bonfire of EU red tape after Brexit have been dealt a blow after it was discovered the Government may need to repeal 1,400 more laws than previously thought.

Ministers working with the National Archives found the extra legal text, which takes the retained EU legislation on the UK statute book to 3,800 laws rather than 2,400.

Thousands of EU laws were transposed into UK law, with often only minimal changes, when Brexit took legal effect at 11pm on Dec 31 2020.

The move prevented legal gaps in a wide range of regulations after Brexit.

Officials have said that it will be a bureaucratic nightmare because each will require legal advice and consultation with business and other groups, the Financial Times reported.

Grant Shapps, the Business Secretary, is keen to slow down the review because it will need hundreds of extra staff, according to the FT.

Rishi Sunak promised to comb through the 2,400 laws during his leadership contest against Liz Truss earlier this year.

But Mr Sunak has given up on his promise to complete the exercise within 100 days and some Brexiteer backbenchers feel he may ditch the idea altogether. In 2021, MPS including former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, published a report identifying some inherited EU laws in need of change.

The Taskforce on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform called for a repeal of the effective EU ban on gene-edited crops, an overhaul of data protection rules and regulations on financial services and artificial intelligence.

On Monday, Maroš Šefčovič, the EU’S Brexit negotiator, warned the UK to ditch plans for a bonfire of EU regulations after Brexit or face new trade barriers to UK goods.

He warned it would pile “even more cost” on British businesses at a time of “severe economic strains” caused by soaring energy and food prices.

The idea of ditching or improving inherited EU law was first mooted as a way of highlighting the “opportunities of Brexit” and was spearheaded by Jacob Rees-mogg.

Ministers could ask for the deadline for the review to be extended from 2023 to 2026, under legislation prepared by the former business secretary, who was sacked by Mr Sunak.

The bill is in its committee stage of scrutiny in the House of Commons and could be amended.