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Missed this - Govt “ditching” NDAs on Brexit preparations that I revealed last year (including eg on plan not to check imports), that trade bodies/businesses told me inhibited their ability to speak out..not likely to yield positive tales re No Deal 🤔 gov.uk/government/new…
Says here “Ministers believe [NDAs] hinder constructive debate & exchange of info, with some organisations eg saying they restrict ability to properly tell members how to prepare for Brexit,” points to vaguely comical fact trade bodies banned from telling members about No Deal...
This is not what they were saying last year when I uncovered the widespread use of these NDAs on No Deal Brexit prep - info kept from eg MPs voting on No Deal. Said it was ”standard practice”:
This is what the NDAs mostly covered at the time (March 2018) - the then secret plan not to enforce incoming border checks in No Deal in 2018, and hope it would be reciprocated. (Narrator: “it wasn’t”).. perhaps being upfront then might have helped?:
But some v much are still in place. Eg story I did this month about new assumed reasonable worst case No Deal trade flow rates, which had been upped after new French preps, but still bad. Still under NDA. Will it be released? (Narrator: I already have).
that story backed up by STimes Yellowhammer leak same number..also led to my scepticism about YH document being “old” and as no former minister recognised 40-60% even BEFORE YH leak, so also rather sceptical they could have been source.. see Hammond letter
... anyway - back to NDAs. Proof of pudding on this “ditching” of them will be whether they still apply in the most contentious noteworthy are of Brexit right now - what is happening on the Alternative Arrangements’ three working groups due to report the PM’s backstop solution.
