upporters of ‘Leave’ were clear – following EU law was a brake on the UK’s ability to compete and to do business with ‘the rest of the world’. In the event, cool heads prevailed at the point of exit, providing for a period of legal continuity. But opportunities for divergence are now multiplying – from AI regulation to intellectual property, procurement and sanctions. Are government and the courts too cautious to capitalise? Or are they treading wisely in a deeply unstable world? Lawyers note that legal passivity also creates divergence as the EU moves on. In law as in defence, the turbulence created by the Trump White House has challenged U