Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom are among the Brexiteers mocked for heralding the end of EU red tape in a new video.
The pro-single market campaign group Open Britain says it it targeting the top Tories’ claims as “reams of paperwork and dozens of new bureaucratic hoops” are headed the UK’s way from Brussels because of Brexit.
Leave campaigners have pledged a bonfire of red tape that would more the country more attractive to businesses.
Boris Johnson has previously said Brexit “will be an opportunity for this country to get rid of some of the burdensome regulation that has accreted over the last 44 years” and that Britain should “burst loose” of EU regulation.
But as negotiations open, the government has admitted that there could be “an increase in administration” should the UK come out of the EU with no deal on the single market and customs union.
Small companies may also have to “self-assess” what they owe in customs duties and Theresa May has committed to moving all current EU law into UK law through the Repeal Bill.
Alex Clifford, Head of Digital at Open Britain, and the pro-remain business group the CBI have said it all adds up to additional red tape for firms.
Leave campaigners, however, have repeatedly accused Open Britain of refusing to accept the result of the EU Referendum.
Alex Clifford said: “Leave campaigners promised us that leaving the European Union would lead to a bonfire of red tape. But instead, their new customs plans will lead to a Brexit bureaucracy bombshell for British business.
“Leaving the Customs Union will be a hammer blow for UK firms, especially small ones. They will now face customs checks, reams of paperwork and dozens of new bureaucratic hoops to jump through. British businesses, workers and consumers will all be worse off as a result.
“This video is a fun way of pointing out the yawning chasm that has emerged between Brexiteers’ rhetoric and reality. The pledge to cut red tape looks a lot like another broken Brexit promise.”