Consumer group Which? has warned that if the UK ever leaves the EU it could end up importing dangerous electrical goods which no one else in the world was dumb enough to buy.
The watchdog barked that Brexit could be a rise in the number of unsafe goods entering the British market due to delays in sharing information with the rest of Europe.
This year a batch of HP laptop batteries that were at risk of overheating were recalled in January, but the message was delayed by the US government shutdown.
Which? is worried that this sort of thing will happen more frequently after Brexit because the UK would not have access to intelligent sharing networks. Of course, Blighty could set up its own systems or wait until European alerts went public, but that would take time.
At the moment, the EU runs a Safety Gate system so that 31 European countries warn each other about dangerous goods. Last year 2,064 non-food products were highlighted as being problematic. Of those 176 were electrical appliances.
Which? said that there was already a desperate need for reform of what already exists to help cut out unsafe products ending up in the paws of consumers.
Which? director of advocacy Caroline Normand said more products were being declared unsafe than ever before and an already failing consumer enforcement system needs a shake up.
She said that the government must secure access to the European alert and information sharing systems after Brexit and introduce local reforms to ensure consumers are properly protected from unsafe products.
