UK lawyers to launch group on staying in EU today

Lawyers in for Britain, which includes 27 QCs, judges and the current and former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, intends to debunk common misconceptions people have about the UK’s legal relationship with the EU.

In a policy paper launched in London today, the group says: “As a matter of fundamental UK constitutional law, the UK parliament is sovereign,” and adds that the UK has “had significant influence over the development of single market legislation particularly in relation to telecoms, energy and financial services, where EU legislation is largely based on the UK model”.

They also make the point that “if the UK were to leave the EU, it would have no real say on EU legislation but in order to continue trading with the EU much of UK business would remain subject to EU law”.

Among its members are three former ECJ judges: Sir David Edward QC, Sir Nicholas Forwood QC, and Sir Konrad Schiemann QC.

Lawyers in for Britain chairman John Davies, a competition law partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, said: “Our conclusion is that the UK is stronger, safer and better off in the EU. The words I hear the most from those who are undecided are ‘give us the facts’. We have gathered together what we believe are the most reliable facts that led us to this conclusion. We hope this report will be a valuable contribution to the debate.”

The pro-Brexit lawyers’ group is called Lawyers for Britain.