Tory Brexiteers 'a direct threat to British democracy', Labour MP Chuka Umunna says

'This is taking our country into a very dark place indeed and has a strong whiff of the 1930s about it'

Leading Tory Brexiteers have become “a direct threat to democracy” in the UK after their attacks on civil servants, Labour MP Chuka Umunna has said.

Mr Umunna accused MPs such as Jacob Rees-Mogg and Brexit minister Steve Baker of making “dark and dangerous” claims after they provoked an angry backlash by questioning the integrity of government officials.

The Streatham MP claimed rhetoric of leading Brexiteers and their allies “has a strong whiff of the 1930s".

“The Brexiters and their allies in the media and beyond pose a direct threat to the institutions that maintain democracy in this country," he said.

“The disgraceful attack on our politically impartial civil service, accusing them of ‘fiddling the figures’, is just part of it.”

The Streatham MP said Eurosceptics have also accused senior judges of being “enemies of the people”, attacked anti-Brexit MPs as “saboteurs”, and criticised the independent Bank of England.

He added: “This is taking our country into a very dark place indeed and has a strong whiff of the 1930s about it. it is being done in the name of nationalism and the pursuit of unfettered free market ideology.

“As patriots, we all have to call it out, defend our right to challenge the government and defend our right to speak out on the future direction of the country.”

He had earlier told the BBC’s The World this Weekend: “There is something in this debate which is getting quite febrile at the moment.

“I think there’s something quite dark and dangerous that is happening and we see this in the attacks on the impartial civil service that we have in this country by senior Brexiteer figures.”

It comes after Mr Baker was forced to apologise to the House of Commons for appearing to give credence to allegations that Treasury civil servants had “deliberately” skewed analysis in order to influence policy in favour of the UK remaining in the EU customs union.

While Mr Baker later admitted he should have “dismissed or corrected” the rumours, Mr Rees-Mogg, leader of the influential European Research Group of Eurosceptic Tory MPs, refused to back down.

Instead, he repeated his claim that officials are “fiddling the figures” and claimed the Treasury is “running policy that is not government policy” and then illicitly leaking details to journalists.

Mr Umunna also called on his party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, to commit to keeping the UK in the EU single market and customs union.

The Labour leader is facing mounting pressure from within his own party to shift stance and speak out against a hard Brexit.

The Independent revealed on Friday that Carwyn Jones, the Welsh First Minister, believes a policy change is likely “within months”, while Labour MPs have also urged Mr Corbyn to “get off the fence” and stop “hedging bets” on Brexit

Mr Umunna said staying in the economic bloc was the “only way of resolving the Irish border issue” and was supported by a majority of Labour voters, including those who voted Leave.

“It is also vital the Labour Party provides clear opposition to a Tory Brexit by at least arguing to stay in the customs union and single market permanently,” he said,

In a swipe at allies of Mr Corbyn, he added: “There is a lie being peddled, to avoid engaging with the substance of this issue and which ignores the breadth of support for at least custom union and single market across our membership, that this is being used as a proxy to attack the leader.

“It is ridiculous for a number of reasons: the most vociferous advocates tend to be in our trade unions, particularly the national officers charged with looking after particular sectors, the overwhelming majority of our membership voted for Jeremy Corbyn in both 2016 and 2016, and the same people support customs union and single market membership.

“In the end, it's not actually about the market – it's about social justice.”