Travellers from Scotland and the UK to the EU are set to feel the latest “Brexit bite”, the SNP has said today, after a major phone operator confirmed the return of costly roaming charges.
In an email to customers, O2 said that from this August those using the network will have to pay around £3.50 for every gigabyte used above the limit in place.
The move comes in the same week the Tory government celebrated five years since the Brexit vote – despite the hit to the economy, businesses, living standards and trade.
Roaming charges across the EU were scrapped earlier, however Boris Johnson’s damaging Brexit deal left the door open for the charges to be brought back post-Brexit.
Commenting, the SNP’s Shadow Europe spokesperson Dr Philippa Whitford MP said:
“At the same time as the Tories celebrate five years since the vote to leave the EU, further damaging consequences of Brexit continue to emerge – adding to the economic and social harm it has already inflicted.
“With a major network provider confirming the return of costly roaming charges, travellers from Scotland and the UK to the EU face yet another Brexit bite and hefty charges all thanks to the Tories’ narrow Brexit vision.
“People across Scotland have witnessed their EU benefits gradually being stripped away against their will – including freedom of movement, the right to live, work and study freely across the EU, and now roaming charges.
“It’s clear that Scotland is increasingly vulnerable under Westminster control and that the only way to keep Scotland safe from the long-term damage of Brexit and Tory governments we don’t vote for, is to become an independent country.”
