Four awkward moments from David Davis’ Brexit evidence
Brexit Secretary faced a grilling from MPs
Brexit Secretary David Davis was accused by fellow Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg of proposing to turn the UK into a “vassal state” during a frought appearance before the Commons Exiting the EU Committee this morning.
Davis was challenged repeatedly by Rees-Mogg, and by the committee chair, Labour’s Hilary Benn, The Guardian reports.
Here are some of the most awkward moments from today’s hearing.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
All change
Benn quoted from a July 2016 article written by Davis for the ConservativeHome website, in which the Brexit Secretary said he expected David Cameron’s successor “to immediately trigger a large round of global trade deals with all our most favoured trade partners” and to “negotiate a free trade area massively larger than the EU” within two years.
Davis laughed off the quote. “I think that was before I was minister,” he said “That was then, this is now. Basically, I looked at the facts, and as the facts changed, I changed my mind.”
Easy does it
When Labour’s Stephen Timms tried to probe the finer points of parliamentary sovereignty and European Court of Justice (ECJ) oversight, Davis provoked laughter with his response: “It’s all been very straightforward so far, hasn’t it?”
Drawing the line?
The Brexit Secretary also said that anyone who used the phrase “red lines” when going into a negotiation was an “idiot”, after Rees-Mogg accused him of drawing such lines in Brexit talks. Davis was adamant that he had never used the phrase, the Huffington Post reports.
But commentators pointed to a question Davis posed to then-PM Cameron in the House of Commons in 2014: “Will the prime minister tell us his intentions of bringing to this House the red line issues that will feature in his renegotiation, and can he give us a preview of some of those issues today?”
Twitter users noted that the exchange was quoted on Davis’ own website.
Called out
To top it all, Davis’ phone went off during the hearing.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
UAW scores historic win in South at VW plant
Speed Read Volkswagen workers in Tennessee have voted to join the United Auto Workers union
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 22, 2024
Cartoons Monday's cartoons - dystopian laughs, WNBA salaries, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Ukraine cheers House approval of military aid
Speed Read Following a lengthy struggle, the House has approved $95 billion in aid for Ukraine and Israel
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Will Aukus pact survive a second Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question US, UK and Australia seek to expand 'game-changer' defence partnership ahead of Republican's possible return to White House
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
It's the economy, Sunak: has 'Rishession' halted Tory fightback?
Today's Big Question PM's pledge to deliver economic growth is 'in tatters' as stagnation and falling living standards threaten Tory election wipeout
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Stormont power-sharing in sight: 'good news' for Northern Ireland?
Talking Point Unionists vote to end two-year boycott after agreeing legislative package to address post-Brexit trading arrangements
By The Week UK Published
-
Why your local council may be going bust
The Explainer Across England, local councils are suffering from grave financial problems
By The Week UK Published
-
Rishi Sunak and the right-wing press: heading for divorce?
Talking Point The Telegraph launches 'assault' on PM just as many Tory MPs are contemplating losing their seats
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet, The Week UK Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
How the biggest election year in history might play out
The Explainer Votes in world's biggest democracies, as well as its most 'despotic' and 'stressed' countries, face threats of violence and suppression
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published