Well, I was advised by Jon at Courtenay to leave it in place as another customer had suffered problems when they had removed it when doing a home build SC conversion. As it turned out, the wiring/soldering in the loom wasn't quite correct. The said person is now running without the EGR and all is fine. I am removing mine as soon as my blanking plate arrives after I order it tomorrow.
As for the symtoms, only what I've been suffering with in the Fuel Nigglle thread but after doing some internet research this evening, hot starts can be a problem if the EGR is failing.