Three major EU capitals have pleaded with Brussels to stop strangling their economies with ‘red tape’, piling pressure on Andy Burnham to abandon ‘insane’ plans to unpick Brexit.

The premiers of Germany, Italy and Belgium wrote to Eurocrats asking for an ‘emergency brake’ on Brussels regulations to protect their businesses and boost growth.

The intervention will send alarm bells ringing in Brussels as it grapples with sluggish growth across the bloc and a rising tide of euro-scepticism. The move is particularly extraordinary given that Germany and Italy are major powerbrokers and the bloc’s biggest and third-largest economies respectively.

There are also fears of a Greek-style Eurozone crisis sparked by France, which now has a staggering debt-to-GDP ratio of nearly 120 per cent.

When Greece sparked the Eurozone crisis in 2009, its debt-to-GDP ratio was around 127 per cent.

It comes after Prime Minister Andy Burnham re-opened the Brexit debate by saying Britain should shackle itself more closely to the EU and even consider rejoining, insisting it would be good for the economy.

This is despite the UK economy being the fastest growing (1.4 per cent) among European G7 countries last year.

By contrast, France’s economy – the bloc’s second-largest – grew by 0.8 per cent. Meanwhile, Germany’s grew by a paltry 0.2 per cent and Italy’s by 0.5 per cent.

Brexiteers today said the letter from EU capitals was proof that closer ties or rejoining would be disastrous for thousands of businesses, warning it would smother them in an avalanche of fresh Brussels red tape.

Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice said: ‘This is a truly damning verdict on an organisation Labour is desperate to tie us back to.

‘Why handcuff ourselves to a failing bloc? Reform UK will tear up all remaining EU red tape, back British business and make this country the best place in the world to invest.’

During a visit in east London this morning, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: 'I wasn’t even an MP when we had the referendum, but the country voted to leave, and I think we need to respect the democratic decision and use the opportunity of being outside the European Union.

'One of the things that governments have failed to do, and I’m afraid that includes previous Conservative governments, is be bold enough to use the freedoms.'

Mike Wood, the Tory shadow Cabinet Office minister, said: 'Andy Burnham needs to stop looking backwards and start tackling the big issues facing Britain.  

'With EU leaders warning Brussels that bureaucracy and red tape are strangling their economies, it is bizarre that Andy Burnham would want to drag us back into the bloc. 

'Instead he should focus on cutting waste, tackling the bloated benefits bill and scrapping stamp duty and inheritance tax on the family home.

'Rather than relitigating the issues of the past the Conservatives are focused on the future, with a clear plan for lower taxes, a stronger economy and a stronger country.'

John Longworth, Chairman of the Independent Business Network (IBN) of family-run firms, said: ‘Who would want to join a technocrat dictatorship when its major member states now recognise that a significant factor in their decline and underperformance is the stultifying effect of the very thing PM Burnham wants to be a part of? It’s insanity.’  

In their letter to EU Council chief António Costa, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian premier Giorgia Meloni and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said they wanted new powers to block legislation from Brussels.

They said this was needed ‘first and foremost’ to protect their small and medium-sized businesses, which they warned were most hit by a surge of growth-destroying single market edicts passed in Brussels.

‘We call for further ambitious simplification packages to decisively advance the cutting of red tape in the European Union,’ they wrote.

They said this should include EU capitals being handed an ‘emergency brake’ to block onerous regulations, adding: ‘More broadly…our common objective should be to prevent unnecessary regulatory burdens and related costs from causing permanent losses of European industrial capacity and further weakening investment and competitiveness.’

Experts say the volume of EU regulations passed in Brussels has rocketed four-fold since 2010, particularly hitting the bloc’s industrial sector – a sector Mr Burnham says he wants to revive.

The letter was sent on the eve of a summit of EU leaders getting underway on Thursday, suggesting the three leaders were aiming to give Brussels Eurocrats a shot across the bow.

Mr Burnham sparked a furious row on Monday after claiming Russian interference has influenced the historic 2016 referendum result – a claim branded ‘lies’ by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and former Tory premier Boris Johnson.

The PM later admitted he had no evidence in a humiliating climbdown.

But he has vowed to press ahead with unpicking Brexit, claiming it would be a 'dereliction of duty' to ignore the chance for a closer relationship with Brussels.

In the Commons on Monday, he said sticking with the status quo was 'not good enough for Britain' as he also opened the door to a return to free movement with the EU after the next election.

He insisted the public mood on Brexit had changed since 2016 and that the 'British people will be the boss of whatever is decided.'

Mr Burnham said he would use a summit with the EU in Brussels on November 20 to discuss options for a closer relationship with Europe and has previously said this could include going 'all the way' and rejoining as a fully paid-up member again.

The summit could lead to new deals which would see Britain join the bloc’s rulebook on food standards. There could also be deals on greater freedom of movement for young adults.

Shanker Singham, a former adviser to ex-international trade secretary Sir Liam Fox, said rejoining would particularly hit Britain’s powerhouse financial services sector in the City.

‘The City has already moved on and does not want to be under EU regulation because of its cost,’ he said.

A spokesman for the EU Commission, the executive arm which draws up Brussels legislation, said: ‘We have a greater focus on implementation, on simplification and on reducing the burden of regulation.

‘That has been one of the priorities of this Commission since day one and, as ever, we are always ready to assess and look into concrete suggestions that our member states send our way.’