Brexit news: Rees-Mogg stands by claim the Treasury is 'FIDDLING figures'
The Brexiteer first raised the claims in the Commons on Thursday when he asked Brexit minister Steve Baker to confirm if he had heard from Charles Grant, of the Centre for European Reform thinktank, that Treasury officials had deliberately developed a model to show “all options other than staying in the customs union were bad”. Mr Baker initially said the claim was “essentially correct” and “extraordinary”. But Mr Grant strongly denied the claim and the minister later backtracked after a recording of Mr Grant's comments was published. Jacob Rees-Mogg has refused to apologise for his claims or budge on his position.
BBC•GETTY Jacob Rees-Mogg hit out at the Treasury, saying they were
I do think they are fiddling the figures Jacob Rees-Mogg
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said: “The only thing I’ll apologise for is that it’s turned out to be much more serious than I thought.” The Tory MP added that he still believed the Treasury was “fiddling figures.” Mr Rees-Mogg said: “What I’m talking about is the way the Treasury has behaved both before and after the referendum. "If you look at the forecasts the Treasury made before the referendum, they were a humiliation. They were clearly politically influenced.
“The OBR, the Office of Budget Responsibility, was set up by George Osborne because Treasury forecasts had been politicised and it was thought they were unreliable on political grounds. "With the referendum and with the EU, the Treasury has gone back to making forecasts. It was politically advantageous for them in the past. It is the same now. "So yes, I do think they are fiddling the figures." Appearing alongside Mr Rees-Mogg, Mr Grant said he was surprised the Brexiteer had not apologised for his claims and repeated that he had not said what Mr Rees-Mogg claimed he had.
Shock LIVE pics as Jacob Rees-Mogg confronts masked men Fri, February 2, 2018 Jacob Rees-Mogg confronts masked men as Bristol University event descends into CHAOS Play slideshow TWITTER/CHLOEKAYEX 1 of 5 The moment Jacob Rees-Mogg is confronted by a masked man
He said: “Mr Baker, a very honourable man, has apologised to me and to the House of Commons for saying things that weren’t quite right. I am surprised that Mr Rees-Mogg hasn’t apologised.” An audio recording of Mr Grant’s comments was published on Thursday, leading Brexit Minister Steve Baker to apologise to Mr Grant. Mr Baker said he answered the question based on an “honest recollection” of the conversation. He added: “As I explained yesterday, I considered what I understood to be the suggestion being put to me as implausible because of the long-standing and well-regarded impartiality of the civil service.
“The audio of that conversation is now available and I am glad the record stands corrected. “In the context of that audio, I accept that I should have corrected or dismissed the premise of my honourable friend’s question. “I have apologised to Mr Charles Grant, who is an honest and trustworthy man. As I have put on record many times, I have the highest regard for our hardworking civil servants. “I’m grateful for this early opportunity to correct the record, Mr Deputy Speaker. And I apologise to the house.”
PARLIAMENT TV•PRO EUROPA The row erupted in the Commons