A proposal to introduced a standardised European number plate had been revealed.

If such a scheme were to go into law it would mean the end of the UK number plate as we currently know it.

Inserted into a wider bill designed to make it easier to register cars in different EU countries, the standardised number plate plan is the work of a Dutch Member of the European Parliament (MEP), according to the Daily Mail.

The scheme is pitched as an idea to reduce fraud, and would also include a common system of identification tags.

It could also potential force drivers to carry a number plate containing the European Union flag – which seems to be the part the Daily Mail is most upset about.

There is no immediate reason to worry, however, as the proposal has a long way to go before it ends 110 years of British number plate tradition. It may, in fact, never make it into law.