Tory minister suggests government could reconsider Brexit in 'country's best interests'
3 min read
A Conservative minister has suggested the Government should reconsider going ahead with Brexit if the evidence suggests leaving the EU is not in "our country's best interests".
Philip Lee's remarks, posted in a series of tweets, threaten to open a new front in the civil war threatening to tear the Tories apart.
Mr Lee, a junior justice minister, spoke out in the wake of Buzzfeed publishing leaked government analysis indicating the UK economy would suffer under any Brexit scenario.
Brexit minister Steve Baker today suggested the papers were leaked to "undermine" Brexit, and also said government economic forecasts were "always wrong" and should be ignored.
He also insisted the Government's full analysis on the potential impact of Brexit would not be published until after the negotiations with Brussels were over.
But Mr Lee, who campaigned for Remain in the EU referendum, said: "We can't just dismiss this and move on. If there is evidence to the contrary, we need to see and consider that too."
He added: "If these figures turn out to be anywhere near right, there would be a serious question over whether a government could legitimately lead a country along a path that the evidence and rational consideration indicate would be damaging. This shows the PM's challenge.
"The PM has been dealt some tough cards and I support her mission to make the best of them. It’s time for evidence, not dogma, to show the way. We must act for our country’s best interests, not ideology & populism, or history will judge us harshly. Our country deserves no less."
On another day of vicious Tory in-fighting, former Brexit minister Lord Bridges accused Theresa May of "muddling through" in an attempt to avoid a civil war in her party.
In a House of Lords debate on the EU Withdrawal Bill, he said: "With under 300 working days until we leave the European Union, we need to know the Government's answers to these simple questions. They go to the heart of the matter, the powers of this parliament and parliamentary sovereignty.
"The Government must be honest with themselves and the public about the choices we face and then the Prime Minister and her Cabinet must make those choices.
"To govern is to choose and as we face the biggest challenge this country has faced since the Second World War, keeping every option open is no longer an option."
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