FILE PHOTO: Britain's Justice Secretary David Lidington speaks at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Britain October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s vast services industry must be able to diverge from European Union rules after Brexit because there is a risk of “unwelcome measures” that may undermine the sector, Cabinet Office minister David Lidington said on Wednesday.

“The reason why we are proposing to treat services differently is because it is in services where regulatory flexibility matters most for both current and future trading opportunities,” Lidington told parliament.

“While the EU acquis on goods has been stable for about 30 years, the EU acquis on services has not been and the risk of unwelcome EU measures coming into play through the acquis on services is much greater.”