David Davis reveals that there will be NO Brexit plan until February at the earliest, leaving MPs little time to scrutinise it
The Brexit Secretary said that plans for leaving the EU would not be released next month as there was still a lot of work to do on it
DAVID Davis has revealled that there will be no Brexit plan until February at the earliest, leaving MPs little time to scrutinise it before Theresa May triggers Article 50.
The Brexit Secretary said that plans for leaving the EU would not be released next month as there was still a lot of work to do on it.
While speaking to MPs today, Mr Davis was asked by Hilary Benn, the chairman of the Brexit committee, when he would see a plan for leaving the EU.
He said that it will be available "as soon as the Government is ready" but that "it won't be next month".
Mr Davis also said that the Government had not yet come to a conclusion as to whether the UK should stay in the Single Market when we leave the EU, but added that he wanted the "maximum market access".
The Brexit secretary had previously said he was "not really interested" in a transitional deal for exiting the EU, which could see a interim deal put in place.
But today he said the Government wanted a "smooth Brexit" with "minimal disruption", a hint that he may now support one "it it's necessary".
"We need to know where we are going before we talk about a transition," he said.
RELATED STORIES
He was also asked about previous remarks where he hinted that Britain would consider continuing payments to the EU, even after we leave.
"At this stage, I'm not going to shut something off," he said today. "To count it out is not to count it in. I'm trying to keep open as many negotiating tools as we can.
"This is much more complicated than a chess game," he added.
Mr Davis said that the Government is looking at Norway and Sweden for a possible model for the Irish border, and he did not want to see a return to a physical checkpoint.
He also said that there were now 330 staff working for him in the Brexit department now, up from just 40 in July.
But he admitted that "we haven't done enough" work yet on the regional aspects of Brexit.
For the latest news on this story keep checking back at Sun Online, where we will bring you live updates as soon as they happen, before anyone else.
Like us on Facebook at , and follow us from our main Twitter account at , where we will bring you this story and all the rest of the top news and exclusives of the day.
is your go to destination for the best celebrity news, football news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video