business secretary Kemi Badenoch said that the majority of the 4,000 pieces of retained EU legislation would remain law and that up to some 800 would be removed.

The news follows a warning from 25 leading British safety bodies that proceeding with the bill would seriously endanger workplace standards.

Ms Badenoch’s allies did not deny that the UK government was preparing to abandon a December 31 2023 “sunset clause” under which EU laws would expire automatically if they had not been altered or retained.

One ally said: “We want to streamline regulation, but we are not getting rid of stuff for its own sake. We want to do it properly. It has to be done line by line. These things need proper thought and consideration, not blanket scrapping.”

A source in the government said that the bill, which was brought forward by Jacob Rees-Mogg MP, would still end the supremacy of EU law, but that Ms Badenoch’s approach was practical and that she was preparing concessions in anticipation of opposition in the Lords. “If Brexiteers want delivery, they should get behind what Kemi is doing,” said one.

A government spokesperson said: “We remain committed to ensuring the Retained EU Law Bill receives Royal Assent and that the supremacy of EU law ends with unnecessary and burdensome EU laws removed by the end of this year.”