David Davis will not be held in contempt of Parliament for refusing to release the full Government studies on the possible impact of Brexit.
The Brexit Secretary had faced calls from furious MPs to be given the reprimand after he redacted large parts of the 800-page study into Britain’s looming departure.
Opposition parties accused him of flouting a parliamentary vote which compelled the Government to show MPs the report after many months of refusing to.
Arcane parliamentary rules mean that anyone found of contempt of Parliament could face being locked in the Big Ben clock tower
But the rules have not been used in centuries and in reality the worst Mr Davis would face is the political humiliation of censure by MPs.
Speaking in Parliament today, Commons Speaker John Bercow gave the Brexit Secretary a public ticking off for redacting the reports – but said he is not in contempt.
The Brexit Secretary had faced calls from furious MPs to be given the reprimand after he redacted large parts of the 800-page study int Britain’s looming departure. Under arcane parliamentary rules he could have been locked in the Big Ben clock tower if found in contempt – although these sanctions have not been used for centuries
The announcement will be a relief to Mr Davis as it comes the morning after the Government suffered a humiliating Brexit Bill defeat last night.
Announcing his decision, Mr Bercow said it was ‘most regrettable’ that Mr Davis ‘unilaterally excised some material from the papers which he provided’.
And he also criticised the minister for taking ‘so long to provide the papers’ after they had been demanded by MPs for many months.
But he added: ‘I have concluded, from the evidence that I have seen to date, that the test that I am bound to apply that there is an arguable case that there has in this case been a contempt of the House, has not been met in this case.’
Speaking in Parliament today, Commons Speaker John Bercow gave the Brexit Secretary a public ticking off for redacting the reports – but said he is not in contempt.
Parliament voted in October month to demand the research be handed to the Brexit Committee after Labour used an arcane Commons motion to trip up the Tory whips.
But Mr Davis infuriated the committee by handing over a heavily edited version of the reports that ran to 850 pages.
The Brexit department only made one copy available on paper rather than sending it digitally, meaning that MPs have to take it in turns to read it in the library.
All ‘commercially sensitive’ content was stripped from the documents in advance so MPs on the committee have no idea what is missing.
And a string of MPs have criticised it for being very thin and not a proper economic analysis.
Downing Street insisted the single, edited copy of the reports fulfils the Commons motion despite critics demands.