[Politics] Brexit: Rishi Sunak broke his word over EU laws, says Jacob Rees-Mogg

[BirSaNN]

Former Conservative minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has accused Rishi Sunak of breaking his word after the government ditched plans to allow thousands of EU-era laws to expire by the end of 2023.

Defending the move, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch told MPs the government was still "ending EU supremacy" but just "changing how we are doing it".

She said it showed Brexiteers could be "pragmatic" and "do what is right".

But Mr Rees-Mogg said the deadline would "make Whitehall work".

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Speaking to the BBC's Today programme, he said: "It is hard enough to motivate Whitehall at the best of times - they are not necessarily coming into the office, they don't seem to be working with the efficiency one would like.

"Without a deadline, nothing will happen and we will retain these EU laws for a long time."

Mr Rees-Mogg, who championed the deadline when he was business secretary last year, said getting rid of the laws would help make the UK's economy more competitive and reduce inflation. Of the PM, he said: "He has broken his word. This is very serious in my view".

Dave Penman, the head of the FDA Union which represents senior civil servants, hit back at suggestions the civil service were to blame, saying the deadline was "an inevitability".

"It was a bizarre way of doing business in government to say that unless we get to a certain point in time, any piece of legislation will simply fall away."

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During his unsuccessful bid to be Conservative leader in the summer, Mr Sunak sought to attract members' votes by putting out a campaign video which saw bundles of EU laws being shredded.

Mr Rees-Mogg is not the only Conservative MP upset at the government's decision to scrap the 2023 deadline.

'Massive climbdown'
On Wednesday, 20 Tory backbenchers went to see the chief whip Simon Hart to express their concern, and some MPs went into Downing Street to do the same.

And during an urgent question in Parliament on the subject, several Conservative MPs criticised the move.

"What on earth are you playing at?" asked Mark Francois as he accused the government of performing a "massive climbdown".

Dominic Raab - who resigned as justice secretary last month - urged ministers to "resist the resistance" in Whitehall.

link: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-65555608