THERESA May’s former right-hand man has accused the government of ignoring evidence in their rush towards Brexit.
Damian Green, the ex-First Secretary of State, who was forced to resign just before Christmas last year after lying about thousands of pornographic images on his office computer, turned on ex-Cabinet colleagues in his first interview since leaving government.
Green told the BBC that leaving the EU was “as difficult a task as the civil service has been set, probably since wartime”.
He added that some of the more rabid Brexit backing MPs needed to stop attacking Treasury civil servants because they’ve produced gloomy forecasts about the impact of leaving the EU.
Right-winger Jacob Rees-Mogg, who is one of the favourites to replace Theresa May as the next leader of the Tories, has accused Treasury officials of “fiddling the figures” on Brexit.
Earlier this month, the Eton educated, Brexit backing MP told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “If you look at the forecasts the Treasury made before the referendum, they were a humiliation.
“They were clearly politically influenced.”
Rees-Mogg is the leader of the European Research Group of Tory MPs, a pro-Brexit group who are anti-any form of customs union with the EU.
Green said Rees-Mogg was talking nonsense: “I do reject all the conspiracy theories that suggest there’s some sort of plot inside the official machine to thwart the will of the people.”
He added: “There’s a great problem of politicians who won’t accept evidence.
“We can all argue about economic forecasts and none of them are 100 per cent accurate but you have to rely on them and if you reject evidence you don’t like then you will end up with faith-based policies.”
Green, who was also forced to apologise to writer Kate Maltby after accusations of inappropriate sexual advances, also called for any government produced Brexit impact statement to be released: “If analysis is being produced then publish it.”
The Tory’s comments have come as new polling from think-tank IPPR suggests that there is considerable public support within the UK for either retaining or strengthening EU-derived policies.
There is a fear among voters that any trade deal that forces the UK to come away from regulatory alignment with Europe and drop current standards in consumer, financial, employment and environmental legislation.
The poll suggested a considerable majority of the public want to keep the current standards in place, or go further than the minimum requirements specified by EU legislation.
Just 14 per cent of people want to either loosen or remove the current Working Time Directive rules, and only 9 per cent want to raise or remove the cap on bankers’ bonuses.
Meanwhile, Renew, a new anti-Brexit, Emmanuel Macron inspired centrist political party was officially launched in London yesterday afternoon - though seemingly only a handful of people turned up to the event.
The group said they were aiming to stand candidates in 300 seats at the next General Election and hope to become the “more military arm” of the Remain campaign.
James Clarke, one of three “principals” told the tiny, audience: “Some of the anti-Brexit pressure groups and movements are very much focused on asking people to pressure their local MP to have a second thought on Brexit.
“What we are is almost the more military arm of that movement. We are actually standing candidates in seats to threaten those MPs that are not changing their minds, or are not standing up for the views of their constituents.”
Co-leader, and ex-UN worker, Sandra Khadhouri, said Brexit had left Britain a conflict zone.
“As I finished working in Georgia for Nato last year I looked at which conflict zone to go to next and I decided it had to be Britain.”
Currently the party has two candidates in Scotland, Amy Milliken, a student in International Relations at the University of Glasgow, and Danielle Rodger, a former contractor in mortgage acquisitions with Lloyds, who is currently studying an MA in Business Management with Business Law at Heriot Watt university.
The party, who have taken advice from Macron’s En Marche party, and who have adopted the slogan “People from outside politics to renew Britain’s hope” are about to embark on a “Listen to Britain” tour.
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