The Government is quietly confident it will succeed in watering down the “heavy-handed” proposed EU data laws, according to outgoing Justice Minister Lord McNally, who claims other EU member states also want a lighter touch.
Making his last appearance earlier this week in front of the Justice Select Committee – before being succeeded by Helen Grant MP – McNally slammed the directive as “heavy-handed and prescriptive”.
He said these concerns had led the Government to be “awkward” in its negotiations with Brussels, adding: “We do see there are real threats to business if we allow the regulations to emerge [in their current form].”
McNally chose his words carefully when quizzed about how the talks were progressing. He said: “We have allies, as always with EU negotiations, there’s an element of the souq, about it. Although negotiations have been slow, we’re not in a position where we believe we can’t achieve our objectives.”
When asked what he believed would be the impact on the digital economy of the new laws, he said: “Our intention is that it will have an entirely beneficial effect. Just as the Single Market gives us access to a population of 500 million people, this legislation should be beneficial.”
McNally’s final act as Justice Minister is to visit Brussels today (Wednesday) with Information Commissioner Christopher Graham to discuss the matter with MEPs. However, he dismissed as political posturing Graham’s claim that, should the laws be implemented in their current form, the ICO would need an extra £8.4m in budget – rising to a possible £28m.
He added: “It’s not only EU Commissioners who indulge in the politics of the souq, so too do government organisations who want their funding.”
And when asked about his successor, McNally maintained that Hunt – a former under-16 judo champion – would carry on the fight.
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