𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Brexiteers have been warned that Andy Burnham’s new deal with the European Union could become a backdoor for Brussels to regain control over British rules and regulations.

Dr Lee Rotherham, a veteran EU expert who was Director of Special Projects at Vote Leave, criticised the proposed agreement, claiming that what is being presented as a boost for British food exports could ultimately mean the UK surrendering more regulatory control to the bloc. He told The Express:“At first glance this looks like good news. But scratch the surface and the glitter immediately starts to come off.”

Dr Rotherham argued that a genuinely free-trading arrangement should have been based on mutual recognition, allowing Britain and the EU to trust each other’s food safety standards and inspections without imposing additional checks.

He added: “If the EU and the European Commission in particular had been serious about chopping red tape, Michel Barnier’s negotiating team would have pushed for a Brexit that involved mutual recognition.”

He warned that the proposed arrangement could force British businesses that do not export to Europe to comply with EU legislation, despite conducting most of their trade elsewhere. He said: “Our exporters to them match their rules and their exporters match ours – but without forcing every single British producer and supplier to follow EU legislation.

“Otherwise we also burden those selling to other customers within the UK (which is most British trade) or exporting to the rest of the world.”

Accusing Brussels of protecting its own institutional power, he added: “The EU institutionally does not like free trade. It is not a free trade area. It is a regulatory union. It is a red tape union. So what Burnham is signing up to is being part of this union.”

“This is not so much a food export deal as it is back to the old Brussels story of salami slicing away who governs the UK.”

The warning follows agreement on a draft sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) deal designed to remove most of the additional checks and paperwork imposed on food and agricultural exports following Brexit.

The draft has been circulated to EU member states ahead of a meeting of representatives in Brussels on Wednesday.

Under the proposed arrangement, Britain would align its food and agricultural production rules with those of the EU in return for the removal of most routine checks on goods crossing the border.

The agreement is expected to make it easier for British producers to export fresh meat, fish and agricultural products, while reducing costs for businesses trading with the bloc. It could also pave the way for British raw burgers and sausages, seed potatoes and shellfish to return to EU markets.

However, it has been reported that the deal would involve the UK dynamically aligning with future EU rules, meaning Britain would have to follow legislative changes made in Brussels without having a vote in their creation.

The Government has introduced the European Partnerships Bill to provide a legal mechanism for implementing new EU rules as part of its wider reset.

Dr Rotherham said the groundwork had been laid by previous legislation, particularly the Product Regulation and Metrology Act, passed in 2025. He claimed it allowed ministers to introduce regulatory changes without sufficient parliamentary scrutiny.

He said: “This has been on the cards for a while, as the Express warned.”

The food deal is not the only area where the Government is seeking closer ties with Brussels. Draft arrangements covering emissions trading and a youth travel and work scheme have also been circulated ahead of the UK-EU summit on November 20.

The emissions agreement would link British and European carbon markets, while the youth scheme could allow younger people to travel and work across the Channel under a capped arrangement.

Dr Rotherham said: “It’s also clear that the UK negotiators are signing up to other agreements and arrangements. We await the details. I fear these will turn out to be even more flawed.”

The Government has insisted its approach will not involve rejoining the single market or customs union, or restoring freedom of movement, during the current Parliament.

Dr Rotherham is a research fellow at the TaxPayers’ Alliance and has spent decades working on European affairs. He previously advised three successive Shadow Foreign Secretaries and served as chief of staff to former Conservative MP David Heathcoat-Amory during the Convention on the Future of Europe.