Senior Brexiteers have sounded the alarm that Sir Keir Starmer risks wrecking an ambitious trade deal with the United States by wrapping the UK once again in Brussels’s red tape. European Union leaders will come to the UK this month for a landmark summit as the Prime Minister work to remove trade barriers.

Former International Trade Secretary Sir Liam Fox warned the UK could end up in the “worst of both worlds”.

He said: “There is a real danger that Starmer, who totally opposed Brexit, will tie Britain into a relationship with the EU where we have to accept regulations that we have no ability to shape and that will tie our hands in trade negotiations with other countries, including the US.”

Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Centre for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation – a powerful US think tank – warned: “A trade deal between the US and the UK is a huge opportunity for the British Government but there is a real danger that this tremendous opportunity for Britain may be squandered by Keir Starmer’s subservience to the European Union. Washington has signalled that it would be a huge mistake for the British Government to tie itself to Brussels and that would threaten a trade deal with the United States.

His concerns were shared by former Brexit minister David Jones.

“We must never forget that Starmer is a fanatical Europhile who pressed for a second Brexit referendum that would have frustrated the will of the British people,” he said. “Thanks to Brexit, the UK now has the opportunity of making its own way in the world on the best possible terms. Starmer should be relishing that freedom.

“Instead, he wants to lock us into onerous arrangements with the EU that would impede our ability to trade freely with the rest of the world.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves caused concern last month when she said Britain’s “trading relationship with Europe is arguably even more important” than with the one with the US. There are reports Britain could agree to follow EU rules on fresh meat and dairy to clear away the need for checks.

Mr Jones said: “There is a real risk that the EU may soon be engaged in a trade war with the United States, which is the world’s most powerful and dynamic economy. It would be senseless to tie ourselves to the European Union and imperil our relationship with the United States.”

David Campbell Bannerman, a former MEP who chairs the Conservative Democratic Organisation, warned against “running for mother” and binding the UK to the EU.

He said: “I am deeply worried about our Labour government’s EU reset... It basically would tie our hands in all our trade deals... This would be a huge step backwards for the UK’s independent trade policy.”

Trade expert Shanker Singham said: There are many things the UK could do in the reset negotiations with the EU that do not put in peril a critical deal with the US or indeed with other countries. Anything that does not take away its regulatory autonomy. Unfortunately the government appears to be pursuing the one thing, dynamic alignment with EU rules that will take away its regulatory autonomy, and not doing many other things, like unilateral recognition of EU standards that would not...

“In the current political environment, with Reform making sizeable gains everywhere, it is not only bad trade policy but bad politics to pursue dynamic alignment.”

A Government spokesperson said: “We’re not going to provide a running commentary on the details of live discussions. Reducing barriers to trade for our businesses is vitally important, which is why we are seeking better trading relations with partners across the world—getting a better deal with the EU alongside a new economic deal with the US.

“We will only sign trade agreements which align with the UK’s national interests.”