Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 7 November 2022 to Question 72238 on Brexit, what the special legal status of retained EU law is that he refers to in his Answer.

Retained EU Law, as introduced into UK law through the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EUWA), is subject to complex glosses associated with EU legal principles, which confer a special status on retained EU law. This includes the principle of supremacy, which continues to apply in domestic law, and means some retained EU law takes priority over ordinary domestic law, including Acts of Parliament, in the event of conflict. This is no longer appropriate given we have left the EU.