Indyref2: SNP's Brexit criticism slammed by Tory MSP

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The recommendation came from a report produced by the Taskforce on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform. This was established by Mr Johnson in February to investigate how Brexit could boost regulatory freedom.

The report was produced by former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith and former ministers Theresa Villiers and George Freeman.

It argued post-Brexit Britain needs a “clear regulatory framework” to encourage investment into the UK.

The three MPs said: “UK leadership in the setting of standards is a key took in our global competitiveness.

“History shows that leadership in the setting of standards can play an important role in establishing international leadership.

“An example is the UK’s leadership in maritime law and maritime insurance, which has left us as the global headquarters of maritime law long after we ceased to be a major shipbuilding nation.”

They continued: “The existence of a clear regulatory framework for a new sector is often a key precondition of investment.

“As we show in the report, a lack of clarity and regulatory risk is holding back investment in areas like space, digital health, ‘mobility as a service’ and autonomous vehicles.”

Britain formally left the EU in January 2020, following several delays caused by parliamentary opposition.

However until the end of December last year it was in a Brexit transition period, during which it remained closely aligned to the bloc.

During this time Britain continued to pay into the EU budget and implement many laws made in Brussels.

Mr Johnson’s new Brexit deal restored the UK as a fully independent trading nation.

This gave Britain the freedom to set its own regulations across a range of policy areas, independent from the EU.

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Sir Iain, Ms Villiers and Mr Freeman argue we should build on Britain’s long history as a regulatory leader.

They said: “The UK has been a world leader in standard setting for over 100 years, with the British Standards Institute (BSI) formed in 1901, the world’s first national standards body.

“The BSI Kitemark, first registered in 1903, has grown into one of the world’s most recognised consumer quality marks, and the longest running kitemark has been in place since 1945.

“Many of these standards, first developed in the UK, are now recognised at the international level.”

Britain is currently in a diplomatic spat with Brussels over the status of Northern Ireland.

Under the terms of Mr Johnson’s deal, some customs checks now take place between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

However this has infuriated unionists, and the Government is calling for more flexibility from the EU.

Mr Johnson welcomed the new report in a letter addressed to the three MPs.

He commented: “It is obvious that the UK’s innovators and entrepreneurs can lead the world in the economy of the future, creating new opportunities and greater prosperity along the way, and levelling up our whole country in the process.

“But your report makes it equally clear that, whether in data reform or clinical trials, offshore wind or autonomous vehicles, this can only happen if we clear a path through the thicket of burdensome and restrictive regulation that has grown up around our industries over the past half century.”
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