The UK government has said it plans to opt in to the new Europol framework in spite of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.

Policing Minister Brandon Lewis notified Parliament of the government’s intention to opt-in to Regulation 2016/794.

The government said the new regulation gives a legal footing to the new framework for Europol and replicates much of the UK’s approach to tackling online terrorism propaganda and cybercrime.

This decision will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny before the European Commission is notified of the UK government’s intention.

Mr Lewis said: “The UK is leaving the EU but the reality of cross-border crime remains. Europol provides a valuable service to the UK and opting in would enable us to maintain our current access to the agency, until we leave the EU, helping keep the people of Britain safe. We now await the outcome of the scrutiny process.”

The government is exploring options for cooperation with Europol once the UK has left the EU but said it is “too early to speculate at this stage what future arrangements may look like”.