Government denies report it will seek to weaken workers’ rights after Brexit

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Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom
Britain's Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom smiles as he leaves 10 Downing Street in central London on October 18, 2019 after a meeting of the cabinet. - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson launched a charm offensive on Friday to sell his Brexit deal to sceptical MPs, with a looming vote in parliament resting on a knife-edge. (Photo by Tolga AKMEN / AFP) (Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)

The government has denied a report that it will seek to weaken workers’ rights after the UK leaves the EU.

The Financial Times published extracts of leaked documents from the department for exiting the European Union on saturday, which said a “level playing field” commitment to the EU “leaves room for interpretation”.

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It is reported the EU has concerns the UK may try to loosen regulations after it leaves the bloc and is likely to impose trade barriers unless rules remain similar to avoid unfair competition.

The preservation of workers’ rights is also important to rebel Labour MPs who are needed to vote through the Brexit bill in parliament.

The current withdrawal agreement has a political declaration which states: “the future relationship must ensure open and fair competition, encompassing robust commitments to ensure a level playing field”. 

But the FT report that the UK’s “interpretation of these commitments will be very different” from the EU’s and that the text represented a “much more open starting point for future relationship negotiations”.

Ministers have rejected the report, with one describing the ideas as “completely mad”.

“This story is not correct. UK will maintain (the) highest standards of workers’ rights and environmental standards when we leave the EU,” business minister Andrea Leadsom said on Twitter.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the report showed that MPs would be unwise to trust Johnson’s promises on workers’ rights. 

“These documents confirm our worst fears. Boris Johnson’s Brexit is a blueprint for a deregulated economy, which will see vital rights and protections torn up,” he said. 

Read more: EU ‘very unlikely’ to decide on Brexit extension length before Tuesday

Junior business minister Kwasi Kwarteng said it was not in the government’s interest to try and loosen employment rules. 

“I think this is completely mad, actually,” he told the BBC. “Nineteen Labour MPs have come with us and voted for a second reading (of Brexit legislation). It would not make any sense at all to dilute workers’ rights.”