Campaigners say revoking of post-Brexit protections amounts to legislative vandalism. / Hundreds of Britain’s environmental laws covering water quality, sewage pollution, clean air, habitat protections and the use of pesticides are lined up for removal from UK law under a government bill.

Deleting national emissions ceiling regulations as part of scrapping EU laws ‘a clear example of deregulation’. / The government is ignoring its post-Brexit green watchdog over the removal of air quality regulations, in a move that has been described by experts as “a clear example of deregulation”.

Experts warn UK’s regulations now lag behind those of the EU and that Britons will be exposed to more toxic chemicals as a result.

The government is to loosen EU-derived laws on chemicals in a move experts say will increase the likelihood of toxic substances entering the environment.