LABOUR REFUSES TO RULE OUT DRAGGING BRITAIN BACK UNDER EUROPEAN COURTS
- Business spokesperson said Labour won't 'give away negotiating hand entirely'
- Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to revisit Brexit deal with Brussels negotiations
- Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves suggested closer alignment with EU rules
Labour last night refused to rule out dragging Britain back under the jurisdiction of the European Courts in order to get a better deal with Brussels.
The party's business spokesman Jonathan Reynolds said Labour won't 'give away our negotiating hand entirely' when asked if they would accept a role for the European Court of Justice.
Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to revisit Boris Johnson's Brexit deal through negotiations with Brussels, while Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves suggested a Labour government would seek closer alignment with EU rules in some areas.
Senior Tories have pressured the Labour leadership to reveal what concessions they would make.
And the bloc's former chief negotiator Michel Barnier has warned Sir Keir that the price for revisiting the deal may be a return to free movement.
Asked if a Labour government 'would accept a role for the ECJ', Mr Reynolds said yesterday: 'We're not giving away our negotiating hand entirely but the argument on food and agricultural products is: do you want lower standards than the European Union?'
Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch branded Mr Reynold's comments on opening the door to the ECJ as 'astonishing'.
'What would they have to give up in order to get that?' she said.
'We cannot allow any kind of oversight from the ECJ – that's not something that you should be keeping in your back pocket.
'That's something that you need to be honest about with the British public.'