World Update: Britain to scrap EU entry law

British Prime Minister Theresa May has unveiled plans to repeal the 1972 act which took her country into the European Union.


“We will introduce, in the next Queen’s speech, a Great Repeal Bill that will remove the European Communities Act from the statute book,” May told The Times. “That was the act that took us into the European Union.

“This marks the first stage in the UK becoming a sovereign and independent country once again.” The 1972 act is the means by which EU law is implemented in Britain. The new legislation will enshrine Brussels regulations in British law, but Parliament will be able to overturn regulations it no longer wants.

The move is designed to reassure business and workers whose rights are protected by EU law. May is to officially announce the plans at a conference of her Conservative Party in Birmingham on Sunday, 100 days after Britons voted to leave the bloc in a divisive referendum.

The bill is expected to be introduced at the formal start of the next parliamentary session in April or May.

It will only take effect once Britain has left the EU, a two-year process which will begin when London calls on Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and officially notifies the bloc of its intention to leave.