Jacob Rees-Mogg demands 'FULL' release of Brexit documents to avoid parliamentary crisis
JACOB RESS-MOGG has urged his Conservative colleagues to release an unredacted version of the Brexit impact studies to avoid a parliamentary crisis.
Speaking in the Commons, the prominent Brexiteer said the Government should have “voted down” the motion put forward by Labour to secure the release of the 58 Brexit studies if it did not want their release.
Mr Rees-Mogg is among a group of MPs calling for fuller disclosure of the confidential reports after edited versions were given to the Common’s Brexit committee one day ahead of the deadline.
Labour MP Seema Malhotra, who also sits on the Brexit select committee, said the edited material was “against the spirit of the letter of Parliament’s motion”.
Speaking at a debate over the documents’ release, Mr Rees-Mogg said: “The issue now is not whether it is in the Government’s interest to publish these documents or not.
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If the Government did not want to publish them, it should have voted down the Humble Address
“If the Government did not want to publish them, it should have voted down or amended the Humble Address.
“The question now is whether the terms of that motion – which in all precedence is a binding motion, unlike the previous motion passed earlier in the year, which was not a Humble Address or a binding motion.
“To meet this motion is not at the discretion of the Government to decide what to take out, it is now at the discretion of the select committee.
“I, therefore, urge the Government to either meet the terms of the motion in full or seek to put down a new motion.”
Robin Walker, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, responded to his colleague’s question, insisting the documents didn’t exist “in the form requested in the motion at the time”.
Jacob Rees-Mogg has argued the Government would be “in serious constitutional waters” if the complete Brexit papers are not provided.
The North East Somerset MP said: “This is nothing to do with Brexit or party politics.
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“It is to do with the rights of the House of Commons. We will all be in opposition one day and it is important to remember that.
“If you try to trample the rights of Commons in government, then when in opposition you have no means of curtailing abuses of power.”
Hilary Benn, Brexit committee chairman, has said Brexit Secretary David Davis should appear before the committee “very speedily”.
The Labour Party MP said the release was “not in keeping” with the resolution passed by the Commons.
