Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge, attacked the Government for not taking the risk of no deal seriously when it comes to data transfers across the UK and the EU in Parliament this morning. He raised the issue of UK-based travel and holiday bookings companies which need to exchange data with EU-based hotels and activities companies. In the event of a “No Deal“ Brexit, these companies would need thousands of contractual data agreements with each business that they work with, making business extraordinarily complex and costly.

Daniel Zeichner said to the Digital Secretary:

“I have a large hotel and travel bookings company based in my constituency, and if the UK fails to get an adequacy deal, they will have to strike 72,000 separate contractual agreements with hotels across Europe. Does the Minister understand, that if Brexit means Brexit, then no deal means no holiday?“

The Minister replied that he thinks it is important to remember that “as we begin these discussions, we can be optimistic about their outcomes.“

Mr Zeichner comments: “It’s not good enough that the Government are just beginning their discussions – what good is that for the hard-working people in Cambridge who want to book their holidays for next year, or who work in the thriving tourism industry? The government need to get serious about this – pulling us out of the EU with no deal would be incredibly damaging.“