Government accused of undermining scrutiny of EU trade deal, as Jacob Rees-Mogg shuts down Commons Brexit committee

Move blocks plan for six-month inquiry into Boris Johnson’s Christmas Eve agreement

The government has been accused of undermining parliamentary scrutiny of Boris Johnson’s Brexit trade deal after Jacob Rees-Mogg ordered the shutdown of the cross-party committee examining Britain’s relations with the EU.

The move blocks a planned six-month inquiry into the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), grilling key players in televised evidence sessions at parliament before producing an authoritative report assessing the merits and flaws of the deal in rigorous detail.

And it means there is no Commons committee with a specific remit to monitor the implementation of the deal and the activities of the plethora of partnership councils, committees and working groups which it has created.

Committee member Joanna Cherry said the 21-member panel was being disbanded because “the government don’t want to hear the truth” about Mr Johnson’s deal.

“It’s yet another example of parliamentary scrutiny being stymied by Boris Johnson,” said the SNP frontbencher. 

Mr Rees-Mogg rejected an appeal from the Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union for a six-month extension beyond its planned closure date of 16 January in order to allow time for an inquiry into the Christmas Eve deal.

In a letter to chair Hilary Benn, the Leader of the Commons said: “There will be plenty of opportunities for questions, statements and debates, as well as the detailed analysis of the house select committees in the months ahead.

“Whilst this is ultimately a matter for the house, it is the view of the government that your committee’s work should come to an end in line with the current temporary standing orders, which were agreed by the house.”

Select committees are formally established by parliament, rather than the government, but Mr Johnson’s 80-seat majority makes it all but impossible for the cross-party panel to survive without government backing.

Originally created as the Committee on Exiting the EU in 2016 to scrutinise the process of implementing the referendum result, the committee was renamed following the formal date of Brexit on 31 January 2020 with a temporary remit lasting until the end of the transition period.

Members had hoped this would allow time for them to conduct an inquiry and produce a report on a deal, which was then thought likely to be completed by mid-2020.

In the event, the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement was not concluded until Christmas Eve and ratified by the Commons on 30 December, leaving only days for the committee to examine a 1,246-page document.

Members hoped that a six-month extension would provide time for them to complete their work by subjecting the deal to rigorous analysis.

The committee is due to meet next week to consider Mr Rees-Mogg’s letter and agree a collective response.

But Ms Cherry told The Independent: “Jacob Rees-Mogg wants to stop the committee from continuing its scrutiny of the agreement Boris Johnson negotiated with the EU because he knows the more we get into the detail of it the more problems we will uncover. 

“For example, earlier this week an expert legal witness confirmed that, contrary to claims by Priti Patel, the UK will not be a safer place under the law enforcement and judicial cooperation parts of the agreement. She agreed with senior police officers and security experts who say that our access to vital databases in the fight against crime has been lost or significantly restricted. 

“The government don’t want to hear the truth, that’s why our committee is being disbanded. It’s yet another example of parliamentary scrutiny being stymied by Boris Johnson. 

And another committee member said: “The Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the UK and EU is the most important international treaty that we have, as it governs our relationship with our largest export market and nearest partners and allies.

“It therefore beggars belief that the government thinks that there is no need to have proper select-committee scrutiny of this hugely important treaty and of our future relations with the EU.

“It is quite ironic that those who campaigned so actively for Brexit on the basis of returning sovereignty to the UK parliament now seem to be doing all they can to undermine our parliament’s ability to do its work.”

It is understood that Mr Rees-Mogg made no proposal in his letter for which committee should in future be responsible for scrutinising relations with the EU and the activities of the EU-UK partnership council, which will oversee implementation of the TCA, or the dozens of committees and working groups created by the deal.

The Foreign Affairs Committee’s remit to scrutinise the work of the Foreign Office does not cover the many trade issues raised by the TCA, while the European Scrutiny Committee, led by Eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash, has powers only to assess the legal and political importance of draft EU legislation. 

Mr Rees-Mogg’s office did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent.