The chairman of Marks & Spencer's has lashed out at the government's post-Brexit trade plans - labelling them "baffling" and warning prices could rise as a result.
Archie Norman, who is a former Tory MP, is the latest business leader to criticise ministers over their economic policies.
He wrote to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, warning that separate labelling for goods sold in Northern Ireland - an option being weighed up by the government - would raise prices and reduce choice for consumers.
Mr Norman also said that the move would be a further blow to UK farmers and retailers.
He said that forcing companies to put "Northern Ireland only" or "UK wide" labels on goods would drive up costs for supermarkets and suppliers.
The idea was first proposed by the government back in July 2021 in a bid to break the Northern Ireland Protocol deadlock.
The letter, obtained by The Telegraph, said: "The overbearing costs of a labelling regime would raise prices and reduce choice for consumers, further disadvantage UK farmers and suppliers and impact UK retailers' competitiveness in other international markets.
"The simple fact is retailers already operate in real-time digital information - day or night, at the click of a button, we can locate our products, be that in a depot, in transit or in a store.
"In a digital era - when one tap of a mobile can check-in a customer at a store and locate their order in under 60 seconds, it's baffling that the Government and EU have rewound four decades to discuss an expensive 'solution' involving stickers & labelling."
He urged the Foreign Secretary during talks with the EU not to consider separate labelling for goods sold in Northern Ireland.
Both the UK and EU are keen to strike a deal to break the logjam over Brexit's Northern Ireland Protocol before the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday peace agreement in April.
But Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris on Wednesday insisted London is not setting any deadlines on the talks over the contentious trading arrangements.
Mr Norman said in May that EU proposals for administering the Northern Ireland Protocol are "highly bureaucratic and pretty useless" given UK food standards are "equivalent or higher" than those set by Brussels.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme at the time that the bloc was suggesting that the same background checks, including veterinary checks, required for the Republic of Ireland are also needed to send goods from other parts of the UK to Northern Ireland.
"Incidentally that means that every piece of butter in a sandwich has to have an EU vet certificate, so it's highly bureaucratic and pretty pointless," he said.
Mr Norman's latest criticism of the Government's plans as "baffling" follow billionaire businessman Sir James Dyson calling out Rishi Sunak last week for a "short-sighted" approach to business.
The founder and chief engineer of the Singapore-based multinational technology company Dyson called on Mr Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to use the spring budget to "incentivise private innovation and demonstrate its ambition for growth".
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