Leaked memo claiming Brexit delay blasted as ‘patent nonsense’ by Iain Duncan Smith
A LEAKED memo claiming Brexit could be delayed by six months was manufactured by people who refuse to accept the result of the EU Referendum, Iain Duncan Smith has blasted.
IDS: Leaked memo created by those who won't accept Brexit
The Tory MP dismissed the report, which said as many as 30,000 civil servants may have to be hired, as ludicrous said it had been created to stir up as much trouble as possible as the Government prepares its EU-exit strategy.
Theresa May’s Government was on Tuesday forced dismiss the document which suggested civil servants are unable to cope with the huge workload and tight schedule set out for them.
The document reportedly stated: “Individual departments have been busily developing their projects to implement Brexit, resulting in well over 500 projects, which are beyond the capacity and capability of Government to execute quickly.”
Appearing on BBC2’s Daily Politics, Mr Duncan Smith told Jo Coburn it was nonsense that tens of thousands of new civil servants were needed in order to trigger Article 50 in March next year.
Related articles
He said: “The assumption that this report makes is first of all that you’re going to get tens of thousands of new civil servants coming in.
“Well that’s patent nonsense because it would take you months and months, if not years, to train up people to do this job, so by the time they got trained they would be of no use to the negotiations.”
Mr Duncan Smith added the idea these figures revealed the Cabinet could not cope with EU-exit negotiations was wrong, as it was not commissioned by the Government.
He said: “To select this out and then go and say these numbers are all to do with the idea that somehow the Government can’t cope with the negotiations I thought was ludicrous.
It’s been done by people who haven’t accepted the result of the EU Referendum
“The government is right also, and I’ve seen many of these reports before, this was not commissioned by Government.
“This consultation report it seems to be was deliberately manufactured to try and create as much trouble as possible and it’s been done by people who haven’t accepted the result of the EU Referendum.”
The Leave campaigner added Mrs May is right not to give a running commentary on the Brexit strategy as she has already set out a date for triggering Article 50.
Mr Duncan Smith continued: “I think what she’s saying is, she’s given a date. She says by that date we want to invoke Article 50, were are not going to do a running commentary on it because that would be ridiculous.
Nigel Farage slams liberal elite saying Brexit WILL happen
“Her job is to put together the strategy with her ministers, agree that strategy and the run it.”
Mr Duncan Smith, a former party leader, also lashed out at the report for criticising Mrs May for keeping a close eye on the Whitehall developments.
The Brexiteer said: “One of the criticism in the report, which is also quite ludicrous, is ‘Theresa May is somehow keeping all go this centralised to her’, it’s the right thing to do.
“Ultimately the Prime Minister is responsible for the negotiations, she has to take overall responsibility.”
Mr Duncan Smith’s dismissal of the memo comes as No 10 spokesman told The Times the Government did not recognise the claims made in the report.
The spokesman said: “This is not a Government report and we don’t recognise the claims made in it.
“We are focused on getting on with the job of delivering Brexit and making a success of it.”
