Businesses would be given a legal “duty of care” on environmental and social issues that could be used to prevent them selling goods from deforested areas and to force companies to investigate their overseas supply chains, under plans set out by the Liberal Democrat party.

The requirement would mean even if British businesses were operating in line with the law in other countries, they could be found liable for environmental harm they or their suppliers caused overseas if it violated UK-defined guidelines...

Under the proposed legislation, companies would be required to exercise due diligence with regard to certain commodities – for instance, products such as palm oil, crops or timber that could come from deforested areas – and to certain behaviours, such as modern slavery or child labour...

The proposed legislation would also encourage companies to exercise due diligence with regard to environmental, social and human rights issues in general and would require them to publish reports on the steps they have taken to exercise that due diligence...

Other political parties are also considering rules to prevent goods being sold in the UK whose production contributes to deforestation, as environmental and trade issues have taken on greater prominence in the light of Brexit and a potential general election...