Responding to the statement issued by Which? surrounding the risk of dangerous products entering the UK following Brexit, Martyn Allen, Technical Director at Electrical Safety First, commented: “Brexit’s implications for the Safety Gate system are certainly a cause for concern from a product safety perspective. If no agreement between all contributing member states is found, the UK may be disconnected from the system. Until an alternative solution is decided upon, consumer safety could be compromised with the exchange of information between the UK and EU jurisdictions about unsafe products potentially being prevented. What that alternative solution may look like and entail, under either a deal or no-deal scenario, remains unclear.
Electrical Safety First has urged the Government that in any case, consumer safety standards must not be allowed to slip following the UK’s departure from the EU and that front-line product safety enforcement bodies must be adequately resourced. For consumers, the best way to keep yourself protected from faulty products is to make sure you register any electrical goods you purchase with the manufacturer, ensuring you’ll be contacted if a fault is discovered.”