Imperial measurement review to mark Jubilee

The government will launch a review on when and where imperial measurements can be used, to coincide with the Queen's Jubilee weekend.

At the moment, traders must use metric measurements when selling packaged or loose goods - but they can use imperial measurements alongside them.

Labour MP Angela Eagle said it was a "pathetic" attempt to "weaponise nostalgia".

In September, the government said it would review rules on imperial measures as part of broader plans to reshape UK law after Brexit.

A legal requirement to use metric measurements when selling packaged or loose goods was first introduced by the EU in 2000.

The law states that imperial measurements can be displayed as well as metric ones - but cannot be more prominent.

In 2001, the rules became the focus of debate in the UK following the prosecution of the "metric martyrs" - a group of market traders convicted of selling goods using only imperial measures - although have not been rigorously enforced since.

The UK copied the law over when it left the EU to smooth its exit, but the review will now look at how, if at all, the regulation should change.

The BBC understands there is not expected to be any move away from metric units.

Reacting on Twitter, Ms Eagle wrote: "Literally attempting to weaponise nostalgia for a time few can remember & even fewer wish to return to - Pathetic".

In a statement, Labour's Shadow Business Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds MP, said: "Small businesses can measure the difference a Labour government would make in pounds and pence with our plan to cut taxes for pubs, cafes, and shops.

"The government should get on with tackling the cost of living and cutting costs for businesses. Labour backs British firms and will make Brexit work for them and consumers."

Ahead of the Jubilee, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also released a statement paying tribute to the Queen and her 70 years of service.

"With the first Platinum Jubilee ever, no monarch has ever served the country so long and, more importantly, no monarch has ever served it so well," he said.

"Providing leadership and wisdom, this remarkable woman has dedicated her life to serving her people and to her beloved Commonwealth."

He added that the Queen's "outstanding service extends far beyond these shores", noting that "she has offered counsel to more than 170 heads of government and has undertaken more than 21,000 official engagements in well over a hundred countries".

"With all that the past 70 years has thrown at us, Her Majesty has led her country from strength to strength under her steady guidance," he said.

"Simply without parallel, she embodies the very idea of what a constitutional monarchy should be."