This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/feb/02/theresa-may-not-sack-brexit-minister-civil-servants-biased
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| May will not sack Brexit minister over claims of civil servants' bias | May will not sack Brexit minister over claims of civil servants' bias |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| PM says Steve Baker will apologise to parliament for comments implying officials produced skewed reports to influence Brexit policy | |
| Jessica Elgot in Shanghai | Jessica Elgot in Shanghai |
| Fri 2 Feb 2018 07.12 GMT | Fri 2 Feb 2018 07.12 GMT |
| First published on Fri 2 Feb 2018 06.00 GMT | First published on Fri 2 Feb 2018 06.00 GMT |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| View more sharing options | View more sharing options |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Close | Close |
| Theresa May has criticised her minister Steve Baker but said she would not sack the prominent Brexiter after he aired claims that civil servants had deliberately produced negative reports saying the economy would be damaged by Brexit to influence policy. | Theresa May has criticised her minister Steve Baker but said she would not sack the prominent Brexiter after he aired claims that civil servants had deliberately produced negative reports saying the economy would be damaged by Brexit to influence policy. |
| May said the government would look at the evidence about the impact of Brexit on the British economy but it would not change the fact that the UK was leaving the EU. | May said the government would look at the evidence about the impact of Brexit on the British economy but it would not change the fact that the UK was leaving the EU. |
| “It’s important of course that the government looks at the analysis that is available,” she told ITV News. “But of course it’s also important that the government does what the British people want us to do. The British people want us to leave the European Union and that is what we will be doing.” | “It’s important of course that the government looks at the analysis that is available,” she told ITV News. “But of course it’s also important that the government does what the British people want us to do. The British people want us to leave the European Union and that is what we will be doing.” |
| Speaking on a visit to China, the prime minister said it was right that Baker had apologised. “The ministerial code says that the minister should take the earliest opportunity to amend the record that has given to parliament and apologise to parliament. He will do that,” she told Channel 5 News. | Speaking on a visit to China, the prime minister said it was right that Baker had apologised. “The ministerial code says that the minister should take the earliest opportunity to amend the record that has given to parliament and apologise to parliament. He will do that,” she told Channel 5 News. |
| “He is going to apologise, he is going to ensure that the record in Hansard is correct so that parliament is not misled when that record is read in the future. That’s what the ministerial code asks him to do and that is what he will be doing.” | “He is going to apologise, he is going to ensure that the record in Hansard is correct so that parliament is not misled when that record is read in the future. That’s what the ministerial code asks him to do and that is what he will be doing.” |
| The DexEu minister was forced to apologise after being accused of maligning the civil service for the second time in a week after he had previously told MPs that economic forecasts by officials were “always wrong”. | The DexEu minister was forced to apologise after being accused of maligning the civil service for the second time in a week after he had previously told MPs that economic forecasts by officials were “always wrong”. |
| The row was sparked when Baker was asked by Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg to confirm that a Europe expert had told him Treasury officials “had deliberately developed a impact assessment model to show that all options other than staying in the customs union were bad, and that officials intended to use this to influence policy”. | The row was sparked when Baker was asked by Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg to confirm that a Europe expert had told him Treasury officials “had deliberately developed a impact assessment model to show that all options other than staying in the customs union were bad, and that officials intended to use this to influence policy”. |
| As the minister stood up, his boss, the Brexit secretary, David Davis, muttered an instruction to say that it “didn’t happen” and grimaced when Baker replied that Rees-Mogg’s comment was “essentially correct” and said it would be “quite extraordinary” if true. | |
| Rees-Mogg was referring to an alleged conversation between Baker and Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Research and an expert on EU negotiations, at a lunch at the Conservative party conference. Several individuals present at the event challenged the claim, including Grant himself and Antoinette Sandbach, a Tory MP. | |
| After audio emerged of the exchange, Baker said his answer was based on an “honest recollection of the conversation” but he stood corrected. He added that he would apologise to Grant and clarify his comments in parliament. | |
| In her interview on Friday, May said civil servants and politicians and ministers were “working together to ensure that we do something very simple, which is deliver on what the British people asked us to do, which is leaving the European Union”. | In her interview on Friday, May said civil servants and politicians and ministers were “working together to ensure that we do something very simple, which is deliver on what the British people asked us to do, which is leaving the European Union”. |
| Theresa May | Theresa May |
| Brexit | Brexit |
| China | China |
| news | news |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |