Boris Johnson and Liam Fox were accused by the technology sector of showing a “fundamental misunderstanding” of EU rules.

The chief executives of the British and American tech industry associations wrote to Dr Fox, the international trade secretary, to warn that Britain should not diverge from the EU’s rules on data. He and Mr Johnson, the foreign secretary, have suggested that Britain may do this to secure trade deals with other countries, including the United States. Julian David, chief executive of TechUK, told The Times that the ministers’ view was “based on a fundamental misunderstanding of how EU rules on data protection work and is not the view of businesses at the cutting edge of tech innovation”.

The EU has tough rules on the protection