Ministers must allow more scrutiny over Brexit, peers warn

The EU is providing MEPs with greater transparency than MPs are getting from ministers, according to the Lords

According to the latest report from the House of Lords EU Committee, the Government’s refusal to be fully transparent on Brexit is partly to blame for a series of “uncontrolled and unpredictable” leaks of official documents.

Ministers will need to “match the level of transparency” displayed by the EU, the group states, if they want to retain “any control” over crucial information over the coming months.

They will also need to take further steps to allow Parliamentary scrutiny of their plans if they are to live up to promises to keep MPs “regularly informed, updated and engaged”.

“It is disappointing that the Government, despite warm words about providing Parliament at least the same amount of information on the negotiations as the European Parliament receives from the Commission... has failed to bring forward proposals to ensure effective parliamentary scrutiny of the negotiations,” the report states.

“Nor does the Government appear yet to have taken account of the position of the EU side... that it will conduct the negotiations as transparently as possible.

“Not only have the Commission made a commitment to keep the European Parliament ‘closely and regularly informed throughout the negotiations’... but they have explicitly authorised the transmission of documents to national parliaments of the EU-27.

“This could include documents originating from the UK – raising the possibility that even if the Government refuses to share documents relevant to the negotiations with Parliament, those same documents will emerge, in uncontrolled and unpredictable ways, from Brussels.

“The Government... will need at least to match the level of transparency achieved by the EU.”