One of Britain’s leading business lobby groups has called on Sir Keir Starmer to agree a “comprehensive” pact enabling young people to study and work in the UK and EU as part of next year’s “reset” talks to ease trade barriers.

The call by the British Chambers of Commerce puts it at odds with the Labour government, which has repeatedly ruled out signing such a deal, despite EU negotiators making clear that it would be an essential part of any agreement to improve trade ties.

A “youth mobility” deal is one of 13 recommendations from a BCC report on how to fix the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Agreed by both sides in December 2020 when Britain left the EU, it has led more than 16,000 small businesses to quit trade with the bloc entirely, according to analysis published this month by the London School of Economics.