MPs demand Chancellor releases secret Brexit studies

Twenty-five Labours MPs write to Philip Hammond after he disclosed the studies were being carried out to a select committee.

A group of MPs has demanded the Government release another set of confidential studies looking at the potential economic impact of Brexit.

Twenty-five Labour MPs have written to Chancellor Philip Hammond after he revealed the work was being carried out during a recent session of the Commons Treasury Committee.

The move comes after Brexit Secretary David Davis came under intense pressure to publish the findings of 58 "sectoral analyses" carried out by his department.

Mr Hammond told the committee hearing in December that officials had "modelled and analysed a wide range of potential alternative structures between the European Union and the United Kingdom".

He said that the work "informs our negotiating position" in the Brexit talks.

Labour supporters of the Open Britain group, which is campaigning for a "soft" Brexit, said the information was essential if Parliament was to hold the Government to account effectively.

In a letter released to The Guardian newspaper, they said: "The public have a right to know what the impact of Brexit will be for them and for their families.

"Without access to the latest taxpayer-funded analysis and research, Parliament will be hamstrung in its ability to scrutinise the Government's approach and to present the facts to our constituents.

"It is vital that light is shed on the modelling and analysis that the Treasury has carried out."

MPs Chris Leslie, Maria Eagle, Stella Creasy and Alison McGovern are among the signatories to the letter.
Mr Davis escaped being found in contempt of Parliament earlier this month over the release of information on the economic impact of Brexit.

He was widely criticised for only publishing the information in a heavily edited form and avoided a charge of contempt of Parliament only after convincing MPs the documents had never existed in the form demanded in a binding Commons motion.