David Davis: No Brexit details until February

14 December 2016

Brexit secretary says he is open to a transition period.

The Brexit secretary, appearing in front of a committee of MPs, said the government would publish details of its exit plan “as soon as we can” but confirmed it would not be ready next month.

Davis, one of the leading Euroskeptic figures in the government, also sought to play down remarks by Philip Hammond on Monday in which the chancellor called for a transition period to smooth Britain’s exit.

Davis said he was open to a transition period, but only to allow the “implementation” of the agreement on Britain’s exit.

“We are aiming to get ourselves in a position where we can negotiate within the Article 50 process,” he said. “Article 50 was written to allow departures from the European Union, that’s its purpose. Plainly the authors of it thought it was time enough to do the job. And so do I.” [...]

“Within that box,” he added, “we want to get the maximum market access for companies with the minimum of disruption, so we will do what’s necessary to that aim.”

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