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MPs slammed the government tonight for removing "politically embarrassing" information from long-awaited impact assessments on Brexit .

Brexit Secretary David Davis finally handed over reports on how leaving the EU could hit 58 sectors of the economy after being forced to in a motion by MPs.

But he was accused of keeping the "public in the dark" after it emerged the analyses - given to the Brexit Committee just a day before a deadline - had been heavily edited.

Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer warned it could be a breach of parliament.

The entire reports are still secret, and the committee is set to meet tomorrow morning to decide what to do next.

The committee could release the edited reports it's been given to the public, or demand more from the government, or both.

(Image: Leon Neal)

MPs have been calling for the reports for months after Mr Davis mentioned their existence. But he resisted, with reports suggesting the paperwork had only been in loose form and had to be brought together into formal reports to be published at all.

Mr Davis insisted he had fulfilled his obligations by sending over the information, broken down into 38 separate reports.

But he also admitted he had removed anything that was commercially sensitive, market sensitive or even "negotiation sensitive" - a huge range of information.

Seema Malhotra, a Labour MP and member of the committee, said publishing material that had been edited was “against the spirit and the letter of parliament’s motion”.

She said: “The Select Committee must be given the full analyses which were completed and nothing less.

(Image: Parliament TV)

"We cannot and should not be short-changed. This will not be in the national interest. The public and Parliament must no longer be kept in the dark.”

Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse, who also sits on the committee, accused the government of trying to “pull the wool over the eyes of Parliament and the British people”.

She said they were still trying to “hide the full impact of Brexit from the public”.

“There is a fine line between what is commercially sensitive and what is simply politically embarrassing for the government,” she said.

“It should be up to MPs on the Brexit Committee, not David Davis, to make that call.”

Mr Davis was forced to send over the information after Labour used an arcane parliamentary procedure to win a vote in the House of Commons on publishing the reports which the speaker said was binding.

(Image: PA)

In his letter handing over the documents Mr Davis explained that elements of the reports had been redacted because he had “received no assurances from the Committee regarding how any information passed will be used”.

But Ms Malhotra said: “David Davis has publicly stated for months that the reports are complete. In evidence to the Select Committee he had said they were ‘in excruciating detail’.

“In November, his Department was saying they ‘didn’t exist’. British businesses and families deserve better than this. They need certainty for their futures.

Keir Starmer, Labour’s Shadow Brexit Secretary, echoed her concerns saying: “Parliament was very clear in its instruction to ministers. All 58 impact assessments should have been shared with the select committee in full, without redaction and unedited.

“If the Government has failed to comply with this ruling then we will not hesitate in raising this matter with the Speaker.”

Labour MP Chris Leslie demanded the full publication of the documents, telling the House of Commons: "These are issues the whole country deserves to know about.”

Speaker John Bercow urged him to approach committee chair Hilary Benn - but said whether to publish the watered-down documents was now a matter for the committee itself.

James McGrory, executive director of the pro-Remain group Open Britain, said: "This is a slap in the face for our democracy and for the parliamentary sovereignty that David Davis used to profess to care about."

A spokesman for the Department said: “The Government has satisfied the motion, providing the House of Commons Exiting the EU Committee with information covering 58 sectors of the economy.

“We have also shared the information with the Lords EU Committee.

“We have always been clear that our analysis does not exist in the form Parliament requested. We have taken time to bring together the analysis we do have in a way that meets Parliament’s specific ask.

“Our overall programme of work is comprehensive, thorough and is continuously updated.

“This sectoral analysis is simply one part of it.”