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Government will release leaked papers to MPs Government will release leaked papers to MPs
(35 minutes later)
Minister says parts of reports will be redacted if they could affect EU negotiationsMinister says parts of reports will be redacted if they could affect EU negotiations
Peter Walker Political correspondentPeter Walker Political correspondent
Wed 31 Jan 2018 14.45 GMTWed 31 Jan 2018 14.45 GMT
Last modified on Wed 31 Jan 2018 18.10 GMT Last modified on Wed 31 Jan 2018 18.51 GMT
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The government is set to release a leaked Brexit analysis that shows that the economy would be significantly worse off in every modelled scenario, after it decided to not oppose a Labour motion calling for the documents to be issued. The government is to release a leaked Brexit analysis that shows the UK economy would be significantly worse off in every modelled scenario, after it decided not to oppose a Labour motion calling for the documents to be issued.
In what the shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, called “a victory for transparency and accountability”, a motion calling for the documents to be provided to MPs and to the Brexit select committee was passed unanimously. The shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, said it was “a victory for transparency and accountability” when the motion calling for the documents to be provided to MPs and the Brexit select committee was passed unanimously.
In answer to a question from Starmer about the timing for the release of the papers, the Speaker, John Bercow, ruled that this should happen “as a matter of urgency”, as decreed in the motion. Asked by Starmer about when the papers would be released, the Speaker, John Bercow, ruled it should happen “as a matter of urgency”, as decreed in the motion.
After the debate Starmer said Labour “expects ministers to hand these documents over by the end of the week”. After the debate, Starmer said Labour expected ministers to hand over the papers by the end of the week, though the exact timetable has yet to be determined.
The precise timetable has yet to be determined. Speaking in the debate the the junior Brexit minister Robin Walker said elements would be redacted if they could affect negotiations with the EU, and only MPs would be able see the studies in a confidential reading room. Speaking in the debate, the the junior Brexit minister Robin Walker said some elements would be redacted if there was a possibility they could affect negotiations with the EU, and the studies would only be available to MPs in a confidential reading room.
The government has came under pressure to release the documents immediately and to the public, with the cross-party Treasury committee of MPs writing to David Davis, the Brexit secretary, calling for this to happen.
The climbdown came as Downing Street said Phillip Lee, a junior justice minister, had been reprimanded for tweeting that if such studies showed the economy would be harmed by certain Brexit options then a change in policy should follow.
No such action has been taken against the Brexit minister Steve Baker, who said on Tuesday that economic forecasts by government officials were “always wrong”.
The decision to release the papers mirrors what happened last year when Labour sought and won an opposition day motion calling for the release of a wider set of Brexit analyses, which turned out later to be more straightforward sectoral assessments.
The newer reports, leaked to Buzzfeed this week, predict that the UK will end up economically worse off under three possible Brexit scenarios: a comprehensive free trade deal, single market access, and no deal at all.
Ministers have dismissed the study as interim and incomplete as it does not include the option of the sort of bespoke deal with the EU sought by Theresa May and her government, details of which have yet to be explained.
Starmer secured another opposition day motion on Wednesday over these documents, demanding that the government publish them.
Responding to him in the House of Commons, Walker said: “Let me start by saying the government will not be opposing this motion today.”
However, he added, certain “negotiation-sensitive” parts would be redacted, and the remaining report would only be provided as a hard copy to the Brexit select committee on a “strictly confidential basis”, with MPs able to view it in a secure reading room.
“A key part of this is for the government to be able to conduct internal thinking when it comes to preparing policy,” Walker said.“A key part of this is for the government to be able to conduct internal thinking when it comes to preparing policy,” Walker said.
Following Walker’s comments the Treasury committee released a letter from its chair, the Conservative MP Nicky Morgan, to Davis, the Brexit secretary, saying the analysis should be released immediately. “The document can hardly undermine the government’s negotiating position if it does not consider the government’s desired outcome,” Morgan wrote. The government has come under pressure to release the documents immediately and to the public, with the cross-party Treasury committee of MPs writing to David Davis, the Brexit secretary, asking for this to happen.
In tweets sent Tuesday evening Lee, Tory MP for Bracknell since 2010 and a junior justice minister since 2016, said the next phase of Brexit had “to be all about the evidence”, linking to the Buzzfeed report. “The document can hardly undermine the government’s negotiating position if it does not consider the government’s desired outcome,” the committee’s chair, Nicky Morgan, wrote.
He added: “But if these figures turn out to be anywhere near right, there would be a serious question over whether a government could legitimately lead a country along a path that the evidence and rational consideration indicate would be damaging.” The climbdown came as Downing Street said Phillip Lee, a junior justice minister, had been reprimanded for tweeting that if such studies showed the economy would be harmed then a change in policy should follow.
A Downing Street source said Lee had been reprimanded for expressing his opinions in public. No such action has been taken against the Brexit minister Steve Baker, who said on Tuesday that economic forecasts by government officials were “always wrong”.
“Phillip Lee will recognise that the analysis was initial and probably not worth commenting on,” the source said. “He has been spoken to by the chief whip and reminded that it is best to air his view in private.” The decision to release the papers mirrors what happened last year when Labour sought and won an opposition day motion calling for the release of a wider set of Brexit analyses, which later turned out to be more straightforward sectoral assessments.
The source faced repeated questions from reporters on why Lee had been disciplined when no action had been taken against Baker. The newer reports, leaked to Buzzfeed this week, predict the UK will end up economically worse off under three possible Brexit scenarios: a comprehensive free trade deal, single market access, and no deal at all.
His comments prompted an angry response from the head of the FDA union, which represents senior civil servants, and Bob Kerslake, who ran the civil service from 2012 to 2015 and is now a crossbench peer. Ministers have dismissed the study as interim and incomplete because it does not include the option of a bespoke deal with the EU which is being sought by the government but about which details have yet to be explained.
Asked whether the lack of action against Baker meant his view was official government policy, the source said: “I will stick with what Steve Baker said.” In tweets sent on Tuesday, Lee, the Tory MP for Bracknell since 2010 and a junior justice minister since 2016, said the next phase of Brexit had to focus on the evidence. “But if these figures turn out to be anywhere near right, there would be a serious question over whether a government could legitimately lead a country along a path that the evidence and rational consideration indicate would be damaging.”
A Downing Street source said: “Phillip Lee will recognise that the analysis was initial and probably not worth commenting on. He has been spoken to by the chief whip and reminded that it is best to air his view in private.”
The source faced repeated questions from reporters about why Lee had been disciplined when no action had been taken against Baker. His comments prompted an angry response from the head of the FDA union, which represents senior civil servants, and Bob Kerslake, who ran the civil service from 2012 to 2015 and is now a crossbench peer.
Asked whether the lack of action against Baker meant the minister’s view was official government policy, the source said: “I will stick with what Steve Baker said.”
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