David Davis says he doesn't have to be clever to manage Brexit.

Brexit Secretary told LBC he just has to stay "calm" in negotiations.

"Anybody can do details," Davis said.

Davis defended decision not to commission Brexit impact assessments.



LONDON — David Davis believes he doesn't have to be "clever" or "know that much" in order to be Brexit Secretary.

Davis, who is managing Britain's exit from the European Union, told LBC that the only requirement for the job was staying "calm" rather than knowledgeable, or intelligent.

"What's the requirement of my job?" he asked LBC's Nick Ferrari.

"I don't have to be very clever. I don't have to know that much. I just do have to be calm."

The Brexit Secretary, who last week told MPs that his department had not commissioned a single Brexit impact assessment, told Ferrari that he did not believe in attempting to judge how Brexit would impact the economy.

"I don't believe in economic forecasts. They've all been proven wrong," he said, adding later that "anybody can do details."

Davis also accused his colleague, Chancellor Philip Hammond, of misspeaking when he said last week that Britain would pay a divorce bill regardless of the outcome of talks.

The Brexit secretary said Hammond had "slightly misspoke," adding that "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed" and that the payment was "contingent on on a deal."

Davis was also pressed on comments he made on Sunday that the Brexit deal agreed last week was merely "a statement of intent" and not legally enforceable.

The comments on the BBC, led to a warning from the Irish government, that they could still block the deal from ratification at the EU summit this week.

Davis downplayed the row, saying that his words at the weekend had been "twisted" out of context.