Brussels is taking the UK to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for breaking the terms of its Brexit deal. The move will put pressure on Sir Keir Starmer’s hopes for a reset of relations and closer ties with the bloc. It comes after Downing Street refused to rule out a role for the ECJ in Britain as part of the reset.

The European Commission said on Monday it had referred two cases against Britain concerning free movement of EU citizens and investment treaties to the EU Court of Justice. The Commission said London had failed to comply with European Union law on the free movement of EU citizens at the end of 2020,

The commission said it decided to refer Britain to the European Court of Justice "for failure to comply with EU law on free movement of EU citizens and their family members at the end of 2020," during a transition period following Britain's formal departure.

The European Commission has longstanding concerns that the extended families of Europeans living in the UK aren’t getting what they were promised – and time is running out to address legal concerns under the Brexit deal.