The UK left the EU in January 2020. The EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 repealed the European Communities Act 1972, which gave effect to EU law in the UK, and converted EU law into UK law. 

To avoid an abrupt transition and provide certainty for people and businesses, some important EU legislation has remained on the statute book. This was always intended as an interim measure to ensure a smooth departure from the EU - these laws were generated by the EU and often reflected unsatisfactory compromises with other EU member states.

Therefore, I am glad that the Government has committed to amend, replace, or repeal all retained EU law that is not right for the UK and to begin a new series of reforms to the legislation we inherited on EU exit. This process will ensure all courts in this country will have the full ability to depart from EU case law and finalise the process of restoring Parliament and our courts to their proper constitutional positions. I am confident that, through these measures, we will remove legislation that was passed with little or no democratic accountability and often directly against the wishes of UK representatives.

As laid out in the Queen's Speech 2022, the Brexit Freedoms Bill will be brought forward to achieve this. This new legislation will ensure that law inherited from the EU can be more easily amended, so that the UK can capitalise on Brexit freedoms more quickly. This will form part of a wider plan to do things differently, in ways that work better for this country, and promote growth, productivity, and prosperity.

'Operation Bleach' - Removing references to the EU

I appreciate your concern about so-called ‘Operation Bleach’ and speculation in the media that the Government is removing EU terms and references to the EU from legislation. I also understand you are disappointed the UK has left the EU and would wish to re-join the bloc in the future. The referendum result, however, was unambiguous and the UK left the EU in January 2020. It is clear to me that any continued references to the UK’s membership of the EU would create legal confusion. That is why the EU Withdrawal Act 2018 was passed. It provided a functioning statute book and certainty for people and businesses across the UK.