No-deal Brexit would see UK intelligence data 'deleted'

Sir Julian King has warned that British intelligence about terrorists and other serious criminals would have to be deleted from EU systems if the Brexit trade negotiations were to far apart.

King, who was the UK’s last commissioner in Brussels, highlighted the ‘significant’ difference between a deal and no deal in terms of security, warning that the negative impact would be felt immediately.

Speaking at a briefing organised by the Royal United Services Institute, King said that a no-deal Brexit would mean that the UK would instantly become disconnected from a range of databases and systems, including the European Criminal Records Information Services which shares data about prior convictions across all EU countries.

King’s warnings are not new but are likely to make officials pay more attention to the threat at hand. Sir John Scarlett, a former boss of MI6, said data sharing between the UK and the EU and its member states had grown significantly in recent years and that it was critical in tackling terrorism and drug trafficking.