MORE than 120 MPs have called on Brexit Secretary David Davis to “come clean” and publish the Government’s assessments of the impact of leaving the European Union on the economy.
Labour, LibDem and SNP MPs accused the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) of keeping “not only Parliament but the public in the dark”.
They criticised DExEU’s refusal to publish the analysis of more than 50 economic sectors, despite written parliamentary questions and freedom of information requests, saying MPs and the public need to see it to enable “full and frank” debate on Brexit.
Labour MPs David Lammy and Seema Malhotra co-ordinated the letter to Davis.
Lammy said: “We have to wonder what exactly the Government are hiding in refusing to publish these reports. Parliament and the public have a right to know what analysis the Government has done on the impact of Brexit, particularly if this analysis reveals that a hard Brexit will be a disaster for our economy, jobs, trade and living standards.
“So we are calling on the Government to come clean and publish these studies so we can have a full and frank debate about the impact of Brexit with all the facts and analysis out in the open.”
Malhotra said: “This is yet another sign of the Government desperate to avoid scrutiny and seeking to bypass Parliament and the public.
“Publishing both the list of sectors and the results of the studies is clearly in the public interest and vital for protecting our jobs and economy.
“This is now not about sides but a nation planning together for a big change ahead. It is about leadership, clarity and responsibility.”
Meanwhile, the president of the European Council has all but ruled out a green light for the opening of talks on Britain’s future trade relationship with the EU at a crunch Brussels summit next week.
Donald Tusk said he does not expect the council to agree until December at the earliest that sufficient progress has been made to allow trade negotiations to begin.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel