Sir Keir Starmer boarded the outrage bus to the Today programme studios this morning to accuse David Davis of contempt for not releasing unredacted versions of the government’s Brexit impact assessments. Do Labour really think this would help Britain’s negotiating position? They should take a look at how the EU handles such sensitive information on its own side. This is from the European Commission’s “Transparency in EU trade negotiations” document – it makes clear the EU would never release information that could undermine its position during a negotiation.

“A certain level of confidentiality is necessary to protect EU interests and to keep chances for a satisfactory outcome high. When entering into a game, no-one starts by revealing his entire strategy to his counterpart from the outset: this is also the case for the EU.”

Sir Keir says he only wants DExEU to hand the assessments over to the Brexit select committee for them to decide what should be published, and therefore this would not undermine our negotiating position. Well given Hilary Benn’s committee (presumably Seema Malhotra) has leaked DD’s letter to the Mirror before they even discussed it or published it on their website, that doesn’t bode well for the security of information handed to the committee. The Remainers on the committee clearly can’t be trusted not to leak the unredacted documents. Handing them sensitive information would be mad…

The following 10 Tory MPs are elected to serve on the Brexit select committee:

P Bone, C Chope, S Crabb, J Djanogly, R Graham, A Jenkyns, J Lefroy, C Mackinlay, Rees-Mogg, J Whittingdale

Soubry loses again…

Leave-supporting members of the Brexit select committee walked out of a meeting this morning after Hilary Benn produced a report they found highly partisan and overly pessimistic. Last Wednesday Benn surprised committee members by revealing that he and the committee clerks were drawing up a report to be published on Friday this week, timed so Benn could get his name up in lights over the weekend. Guido is told there were no previous discussions with committee members about the report and no discussions about its conclusions.

Today Benn presented colleagues with his 150 page report. After an hour of talks this morning, Leave-supporting committee members decided that the report was so partisan, so gloomy and so pessimistic that there was no point trying to table amendments or seek changes. They were particularly disappointed that Benn had made no attempt to achieve balance or consensus among the committee, and that evidence from Ivan Rogers and representatives from Gibraltar was selectively quoted. There was no organised walkout, but after an hour of going round in circles the Brexit committee members decided to politely leave. They left the Remain committee members (who are obviously happy with the report) in the room.

Guido is told the Brexiteer committee members now see no other option but to publish a minority report. To be fair to the Leavers on the committee, they have worked with Benn and the Remainers on previous reports and tried to constructively seek a consensus. This was always going to be the problem with Benn being committee chair. Select committees are supposed to hold the government to account but also help them shape policy – highly partisan Hilary is just trying to obstruct the process…

Hilary Benn’s Brexit select committee has descended into its first inevitable bunfight after it published a report demanding a significant transition arrangement before we fully leave the EU. As Guido reported yesterday, Remainers want to use a ‘transition’ lasting several years to buy time and prevent a real Brexit. Predictably, the Remain majority Brexit select committee has suggested it wants the same. Karl McCartney, a Leave committee member, has broken ranks to blast his committee’s own report:

“I believe this Report is flawed in certain areas, which should not be a surprise given that the majority of the (mainly Labour and SNP) MPs elected to it voted for us to Remain… I entirely reject the Remain MPs’ calls in respect of transitional arrangements on trade and tariffs, nor do I accept some of the more emotive and negative language from the Remain side of the argument. I had hoped that a more collegiate view would have prevailed, but some of those representing the minority Parties are obviously not of the same opinion, and so this Select Committee seems to be determined to operate in a different way to others. These MPs, I fear, are seeking to thwart the democratic will of the 17½ million people who voted to Leave the European Union by taking part in the largest democratic vote our Country has had. Prolonged transitional arrangements are in neither the UK’s, nor indeed the EU’s, interests – they would merely prolong the uncertainty for businesses and everyone else.”

Change Britain, which has Brexit select committee member Michael Gove among its supporters, is also unimpressed. Gisela Stuart says:

“There are sensible practical arguments that can be made in favour of negotiating a transitional deal to give businesses time to prepare as we leave the EU. However, any such arrangements must be time limited and must not be used by those who refuse to accept the referendum result to keep the UK in the EU by the back door.”

A swift transitional period may be sensible, a prolonged delay is a Remain attempt to prevent a real Brexit…

The Tories elected to the Brexit select committee are Alistair Burt, Maria Caulfield, Michael Gove, Andrea Jenkyns, Jeremy Lefroy, Peter Lilley, Karl McKartney, Craig Mackinley, Dominic Raab and John Whittingdale. Eight out of ten are leavers, Vote Leave dream team reunited. No Soubs…

The Remain stitch up to get Hilary Benn in charge of the Brexit select committee has a challenger – Labour Leaver Kate Hoey is putting her name forward for the role. She is backed by other prominent Labour Brexiters including Gisela Stuart and John Mann, as well as Tories like Theresa Villiers, the SNP’s Alex Salmond and DUP’s Nigel Dodds. Tory MPs’ votes are crucial – do you really want a Remainer who wants to stay in the single market in charge of scrutiny of Brexit? Or a Leaver who will properly hold Theresa May to account…