UK govt admits return of mobile roaming charges in no-deal Brexit

Britons face a return to exorbitant mobile phone roaming charges if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal, the government admitted on Thursday.

The move was confirmed by Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Jeremy Wright after he was summoned to parliament to answer an emergency question tabled by Labour deputy leader Tom Watson.

A government regulation was laid unannounced in parliament on Tuesday that would revoke the existing law that guarantees no extra charges for mobile phone usage within the 28 member bloc.

Watson accused the government of caving in to the “lobbying might of telecoms companies” after it emerged that it had rejected calls from consumer bodies to maintain the current regime.

In an explanatory note to go with the legislation, the government said it had decided "not to adopt this proposal".

"The Roaming Regulation establishes harmonised rules across the EU which underpin surcharge-free roaming, and these will become inoperable after exit. In addition, the costs of regulating retail roaming charges without harmonised wholesale charges may lead to roaming becoming unaffordable for many operators." it stated.

Wright said operators have claimed they had no plans to increase tariffs after March 29, when Britain leaves the EU, although Watson expressed scepticism that they would stick to this arrangement.

“He and I both know, and more importantly voters know, what that phrase really means. The reason the EU introduced free roaming in the first place is because the telecoms companies could not be trusted to give consumers a fair deal,” Watson said.

"This is how holidaymakers have been hit by Brexit chaos. First, the value of the pound has plummeted, thus increasing the cost of family holidays. Secondly, we will have to pay for visas to travel to the EU. Thirdly, we will be hit by a Brexit bill to use our mobiles abroad."

"If the Secretary of State does not want to go down in history as the Minister for the Tory triple whammy tourist tax, I suggest that he adopts a different course."

Roaming charges were axed in 2017 after the EU concluded operators were taking advantage of consumers who used their phones abroad. The move had been initially opposed during consultations by the the Labour government of Tony Blair, which was heavily lobbied by the industry.