Brexit: UK lawyers and accountants 'could be banned from EU work'

British lawyers and accountants could be barred from working in Europe if the Government leaves the Brexit negotiations without a deal, House of Lords peers have warned.

A cross-party report from the European Union Committee said that non-financial services, which account for 39 per cent of UK exports, will be “badly damaged” if Britain fails to strike a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

Professional business services, such as legal and accounting firms, would face “increased, and in some cases absolute, barriers to trading with the EU” and will likely “relocate to the EU”, it said.

Non-financial services, including aviation, digital services, retail and broadcasting, will also be hit, it said.

“This trade is critical to the UK’s economy as it creates employment and supports goods exports – we can’t afford to lose that,” said Lord Whitty, the chairman of the EU Internal Market Sub-Committee.

“Walking away from negotiations without a deal would badly damage UK plc, particularly in sectors such as aviation and broadcasting.”

The report said a deal is vital because many of these non-financial industries have no World Trade Organisation rules to fall back on.

“Faced with a 'no deal' scenario, businesses could be forced either to re-structure or relocate in order to continue to operate in the way that they do today,” it added.

It also called on the Government to negotiate an FTA to cover all services by the time the two-year Brexit process likely ends in 2019.

“Under a ‘no deal’ scenario, regulated PBS firms, such as legal and accounting firms, would face increased, and in some cases absolute, barriers to trading with the EU," it said.

“Unregulated PBS, like management consulting, would be able to continue trading with the EU, although even they could be indirectly affected.

“In such a scenario, it is likely that PBS firms, in particular those in the legal sector, would either relocate to the EU, or move resources to partner firms within the EU, in order to continue to trade on preferential terms.

“Both outcomes could have a negative effect on the UK’s trade balance, tax revenues and employment.”

The EU is expected to give UK banks a new incentive to leave London, but Prime Minister Theresa May said in January that “no deal for Britain is better than a bad deal”.