David Davis (pictured) refused to hand over unredacted papers showing the impact Brexit will have on British industries
David Davis last night provoked a row with MPs after he refused to hand over unredacted papers showing the impact Brexit will have on British industries because of fears they would leak Britain’s negotiating strategy.
The Brexit Secretary was accused of keeping Parliament ‘in the dark’ because he would only give edited versions of the reports analysing the effect on 58 sectors of the UK economy.
But in a letter to Brexit committee chairman Hilary Benn, Mr Davis said the papers had been redacted because there was no guarantee the MPs would keep them secret.
He said: ‘Given that we have received no assurances from the committee regarding how any information passed will be used, we have sought not to include commercially, market and negotiation sensitive information.
‘Delivering a successful outcome to our EU exit negotiations for the whole country requires keeping some information confidential for the purposes of the negotiations.’
In the letter, also delivered to Lord Jay, chair of the Lords Brexit committee, Mr Davis called for a meeting before any decision to publish the information.
‘I am sure you recognise that there are aspects of the analyses which may still be sensitive to the negotiations especially in the context of this particular point in time,’ he wrote.
‘I would therefore appreciate the opportunity to discuss these sectoral analyses further before any decision is taken to share the information more widely.’
Labour committee member Seema Malhotra, who has led efforts to examine the sectoral papers, said MPs must be given the full documents ‘and nothing less’.
Labour MP Seema Malhotra (left) has told Mr Davis (right) MPs must be given the full documents ‘and nothing less’
‘It seems like the Government have already decided what should and should not be seen by editing them before sending the impact studies to the select committee,’ she said.
‘British businesses and families deserve better than this. They need certainty for their futures.
‘The select committee must be given the full analyses which were completed and nothing less. We cannot and should not be short-changed. This will not be in the national interest.
‘The public and Parliament must no longer be kept in the dark.’
The public and Parliament must no longer be kept in the dark
Mr Davis agreed to release the documents after Labour won a Commons vote on November 1 on a ‘humble address’ to the Queen asking for what it termed the ‘impact assessments’ to be provided to the committee.
Labour’s motion was passed without a vote earlier this month after ministers indicated the Government would not oppose it.
A spokesman for the Department said: ‘The Government has satisfied the motion, providing the House of Commons Exiting the EU Committee with information covering 58 sectors of the economy.
‘We have also shared the information with the Lords EU Committee.
‘We have always been clear that our analysis does not exist in the form Parliament requested.
‘We have taken time to bring together the analysis we do have in a way that meets Parliament’s specific ask.
‘Our overall programme of work is comprehensive, thorough and is continuously updated.
‘This sectoral analysis is simply one part of it.’