A Conservative former home secretary has backed calls for Boris Johnson’s successor to ditch his Brexit plan to split from the EU on data regulation, amid warnings it will cost businesses billions.
A new report by the ex-leader of Tory MEPs, Lord Timothy Kirkhope, today warns Mr Johnson’s plan for a new UK-only rulebook on data security could cut Britain off from the free exchange of information within Europe, and undermine protections against international crime and terrorism.
Businesses could be locked out of lucrative markets and may relocate outside the UK in order to avoid the additional barriers to trade, while police and security agencies could lose access to vital information on suspects’ criminal records, fingerprints, DNA or car registrations, the report warns.
