Jacob Rees-Mogg claims 'irresponsible' government 'wasn't prepared' for Brexit

Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg made the admission that the Government did not have a plan in place for Brexit while hosting a live question and answer session on LBC radio this morning.

During a discussion on Brexit, a caller asked the conservative MP if prior to the 2016 referendum, the government had considered what would happen if Brexit went ahead.

Mr Rees-Mogg, who was on the Treasury Select Committee at the time of the referendum, said he did not think the government had considered leaving the EU and they did not plan for it.

“I think they thought if they admitted they were preparing for a leave vote, it would have boosted the leave vote.” He said.

He went on to say that he believed the government behaved irresponsibly.

“They were so obsessed with their own propaganda that they were very irresponsible in their approach to government," he said.

When asked who he thought was responsible for the apparent lack of planning, he said:

“It was a political decision rather than a Civil Service decision. I don’t think on this occasion one can blame the Civil Service.”

Rees-Mogg said that former Prime Minister, David Cameron, “specifically told them [senior mandarins] not to [plan for Brexit].”

He said he believed that not planning for a leave vote was part of the Remain campaign’s “project of fear,” to prevent the public from voting to leave the EU.

The Tory MP said that he predicted that the country would vote to leave, but was not in a position to influence whether or not the Government made any preparations.