An “absurd” EU regulation on bendy bananas will be scrapped, the Environment Secretary has announced.

In her keynote speech at the Conservative Party conference, Therese Coffey said it is not for the Government to decide “the shape of bananas you want to eat”.

Ms Coffey told the Exchange Hall at the Manchester Central Convention Complex: “We are going further to help farmers and rural businesses by making the most of our Brexit freedoms, freedom from European rules, freedom to choose what works best for Britain.

“We’ve already legislated to allow gene editing so that we can design crops that are fit for the future.

“My officials are cutting red tape and introducing smarter regulation, and, frankly, bent or straight, it’s not for Government to decide the shape of bananas you want to eat.

“I just need to assure you that they are safe to eat. So, we will be dropping absurd regulations including the one on bendy bananas.”

The EU Commission regulation on bendy bananas was going to be removed from the UK statute books at the end of the year.

But the Government in May rowed back on plans to automatically repeal all retained EU law by the end of the year.

The widely parodied rule by Brussels sets out marketing standards for bananas across Europe and says the fruits have to be “free from malformation or abnormal curvature”.

However Ms Coffey’s speech has confirmed the regulation will be ditched by the end of 2023.

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