London promises Brexit Freedom Bill to speed up scrapping of EU laws

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will on Monday introduce legislation to make it easier for the English parliament to remove or amend European Union regulations that were copied into UK law before Brexit.

Boris Johnson: beleagured but not beaten. © AP/Jessica Taylor, UK Parliament

To avoid uncertainty and confusion as Britain extricated itself from the European Union after 40 years, the London government automatically allowed thousands of EU laws and regulations to continue in force in Britain after Brexit.

Under current rules, reforming and repealing EU law would take several years, the government said on Monday. The new legislation is intended to facilitate changes and ensure that regulations better suit Britain.

"Our new Brexit Freedoms Bill will end the special status of EU law in our legal framework and ensure that we can more easily amend or remove outdated EU law in future," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement.

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The government said it would also publish a policy document on how it plans to use the opportunity of its EU exit, which formally took place two years ago on Monday, to make changes to its regulatory framework and to cut red tape.

The plans, it said, will include establishing a data rights regime, improving public procurement, setting up a domestic subsidy control regime to support the UK economy, and reducing reporting burdens for small and medium-sized companies.

The government also wants to move away from EU rules in areas like artificial intelligence, data protection and clinical trials for new medicines.

Critics have accused Johnson of rushing out half-baked plans to shore up support among his own increasingly disgruntled Conservative MPs.

There have been persistent calls for the prime minister to resign over claims of lockdown-breaching parties in Downing Street and several other recent scandals.

(with newswires)