About 4,000 laws were believed to be potentially affected by the Bill, which had a sunset clause on all EU-derived legislation, after which they would be repealed unless specifically retained. However, business and trade secretary Kemi Badenoch is reported to have told Conservative MPs last week that about 800 laws will be removed from the statute book. Badenoch said the government will publish a list of the laws.
Law Society vice president Nick Emmerson said this was ‘a positive step for business certainty’ and called on the government to publish ‘the full, exhaustive list of every piece of legislation at risk without delay’.
Lawyers have repeatedly warned the Bill set an unworkable deadline, evaded parliamentary scrutiny and would result in regulatory uncertainty.