It was one of the stranger battlegrounds of the Brexit debate: the controversy over the EU’s plans to save energy by banning high-powered toasters and kettles.

But now the Committee on Climate Change has poured cold water on Brexiteers’ hopes that leaving the EU would see Britain carry on using power-guzzling appliances with abandon.

In a report on the implications of Brexit, the Government’s official climate advisers warned that retaining weaker energy efficiency standards for consumer goods in the UK would jeopardise emissions-reduction plans and be bad for consumers and manufacturers alike.

In order to hit the UK’s own climate change targets, it said “some policy previously set at EU level should be preserved and strengthened in future”, including “product and efficiency standards” on household appliances and vehicles.

“These standards cut costs for consumers, reduce emissions, and create a level playing field for competition,” it said. “If the UK has weaker standards than the EU, that could reduce opportunities for UK manufacturers and lead to a dumping on the UK market of inefficient products with higher running costs and emissions.”

The EU delayed the introduction of its “ecodesign” rules, targeting high-powered kettles and toasters, until after the Brexit vote in the hope of avoiding handing ammunition to Leave campaigners that accused it of meddling.