Brexit white paper: Time stamp on Theresa May's plan reveals signs of all-nighter
Policy document sets out the Government's negotiating stance for leaving the EU
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.For a document as important as a white paper on Britain’s exit from the European Union, you might expect the i’s to be dotted and t’s to be crossed well-ahead of deadline.
But there is a telling clue on the government’s Brexit policy release that reveals ministers may have been making tweaks to the document late into the night.
The time and date stamp on the Government’s newly-released white paper shows the final version was signed off by the Prime Minister during the early hours of Thursday morning.
Civil servants in the Department for Exiting the EU (DexEU) appear to have pulled an all-nighter in a bid to prepare the official policy document for release.
Printed in small font on the bottom of each of the white paper’s 77 pages is a date stamp showing 4.17am.
One political commentator, David Allen Green, who spotted the detail, said his thoughts were with the “exhausted” official at DexEU who sent the file to the printers.
A spokesman at DexEu told The Independent the department did not wish to comment on the exact time of publication – or what may or may not have been amended at the eleventh hour.
But it is understood that government documents – especially those of a particularly sensitive nature - are not routinely dispatched for printing until the last moment to allow for “fine tuning” and to make sure the contents are correct.
The white paper was published a day after MPs voted overwhelmingly to permit Theresa May to commence withdrawal negotiations under Article 50.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments