The plan to return Empire measures to stores across Britain has been described by Asda boss Sir Rose as “complete and utterly absurd”.
The chairman of the supermarket giant said he was “shocked” by the proposal and said only the “minority” wanted it.
The 12-week government talks began today as part of the broader Brexit commitment to give more freedom to traders.
Read more: What is an imperial measure? Why did you replace them with metrics?
In 2000, the European Weight and Measure Directive mandated merchants to use the metric system when selling packages or loose products, such as fruit and vegetables.
They still had the right to price goods in pounds and ounces, but it was represented in gram and kilogram values.
According to the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the current revision of the “Excessive Regulation of the European Union” recovers the “common sense” of the Charter.
Boris Johnson is said to have matched the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
But Sir Rose, a Conservative peer, said it was a “reverse” to go.
He told Times Radio: I have never heard such nonsense in my life.
“That is to say, we have a serious problem in the world and we are saying that we are back. Does anyone in this country know, at the age of 40, how many ounces are in a pound?
Are we going to go to the supermarket and say, ‘Please, I have £1 and a half, or £1, this or 4 ounces of that?’
“We’re doing this to really please the few people who hate the past. This is complete and utter nonsense and adds to those who have to put it down.”
The move was also called “foolish” by Conservative MP Alicia Cairns, one of at least 20 outlaw leaders who said they had lost confidence in the prime minister.
“No voter has requested this,” Cairns said.
“This is not the freedom of Brexit. This is nonsense,” he added.
Various stakeholders, including businesses, industry groups, government agencies and consumer groups, were asked to contribute to the consultation.
BEIS said the move would give merchants more options, but said it would not incur additional costs.
Business Minister Paul Scully said:
“Our current consultation will help the store serve their customers the way they want.
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Source: Metro
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