Doubts grow over U.K. preparation for Brexit

LONDON — The U.K. government acknowledged Wednesday that it has made no detailed assessment of the economic impact of leaving the European Union, as its lack of preparation for a momentous break became clear.

David Davis, the official shepherding Britain’s departure from the 28-nation bloc, said the nation should be prepared for a profound shift in the way the economy operates on a scale similar to that of the 2008 financial crisis.

He told a parliamentary committee that since Britain must prepare for a “paradigm change,” in the economy, any assessment in the automotive, aerospace financial services or other sectors would fail to be “informative.”

The House of Commons’ Brexit committee’s chair, Hilary Benn, described the decision as “rather strange,” given the historic decisions at hand and since authorities wish to start renegotiating Britain’s trade relations with the rest of Europe within weeks.

“You have said there are no impact assessments,” Benn said. “You were hoping that, at the October [European] Council, the door would be open to phase two of the negotiations, where the question would be asked: ‘What does the U.K. government want?’

“Are you actually telling us that the government hadn’t at that point — and still hasn’t — undertaken the assessment?” Benn asked.

Davis told the committee he didn’t need a formal impact assessment.

“I’m not a fan of economic models because they have all proven wrong,” Davis said. “When you have a paradigm change — as happened in 2008 with the financial crisis — all the models were wrong.”

But as the day wore on, the government’s last-minute planning became more evident.

Treasury chief Philip Hammond revealed that Prime Minister Theresa May’s closest advisers in her cabinet had not had a full discussion of the “end state position,” the status the U.K. would aim to have once it leaves the EU. In testimony before the House of Commons Treasury Committee, Hammond said it was too soon to have such talks.