Mr. Gerry Cross:

It does not have to be a light touch. It can just be different. If we establish a body of rules as the way to protect consumers in Europe, and another jurisdiction decides to do the same thing differently, we will want to have a framework to work out whether the approach being taken in the other jurisdiction meets our standards and achieves the same outcomes.

So far we have had that third country regime with the equivalence assessments which have applied in respect of countries such as the US, but they are not as clear and present on our doorstep as is the UK. That has caused people to consider how it works in that context. It is a question of difference rather than light touch.