Keir Starmer defends plan for closer alignment with EU rules

PM rejects claim plan is integration with EU ‘by stealth’, saying changes will happen only if parliament passes law

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Keir Starmer has defended plans for the UK to align more closely with some EU rules without parliamentary votes, saying a closer relationship with Europe “is in the UK’s best interest”, particularly given the international turmoil over the Iran war.

Speaking to the BBC after the Guardian revealed that ministers were planning to use so-called Henry VIII powers to dynamically align with EU rules by default, Starmer argued that, nearly 10 years after the Brexit referendum, it was time to “look forward”.