Make the squabbling

THERESA May must “swiftly” crack down on ministerial squabbling to ensure that Brexit is not delayed, a report from a leading think-tank warned last night.

Experts raised concerns that crucial time is being wasted on Whitehall “turf wars” rather than being spent on setting out a positive vision for Britain’s future outside the EU.

A scathing verdict on the progress of Whitehall preparations for the forthcoming European negotiations was delivered in a report from the Institute for Government called Planning For Brexit – Silence Is Not A Strategy.

The report will intensify pressure on the Government to accelerate the departure process.

Dr Hannah White, a programme director at the institute and a co-author of the report, said: “The current situation, where we are left to interpret personal musings of individual ministers, is frustrating those looking for an early exit, perplexing those with whom we have to negotiate and unsettling those looking to do business in the UK.

“The Prime Minister has sworn she will not give a running commentary on negotiations but she needs rapidly to clarify how and when the Government intends to go about making decisions on Brexit.”

Jill Rutter, also a programme director and the other co-author, added: “Ministers will be faced with a series of difficult choices over the shape of Brexit. These are too important Theresa May has been urged to act while Peter Hain predicted an EU U-turn to be left to normal interdepartmental wrangling and horsetrading. Whitehall in general and the new Department for Exiting the EU in particular will need to make sure ministers can make those choices on the best shared analysis the Civil Service can produce.”

The report raised concerns over Mrs May’s decision to split responsibility for Brexit negotiations between the Foreign Office, the Department for Exiting the EU and the Department for International Trade.

Potential rivalries between Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, EU Secretary David Davis and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox could lead to “distraction and delayed work” of the withdrawal process.

The report adds: “This triple departmental structure risks creating fragmentation and incoherence and a lack of clarity about the roles and responsibilities of the new departments has caused distractions and delayed work on Brexit. The Prime Minister now needs to move swiftly to stamp out turf wars between her Brexit ministers and make clear who does what.”

So far Mrs May has said she will trigger Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, the formal mechanism for leaving the EU, next year. She has