Chancellor Philip Hammond and Brexit secretary David Davis listen to Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May deliver a speech about her vision for Brexit, at Mansion House in London, Britain, March 2, 2018. REUTERS/Leon Neal/Pool

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain does not plan to produce its own draft version of a legal text setting out some of the arrangements around Brexit before a meeting later this month of European Union leaders, finance minister Philip Hammond said on Monday.

Hammond, speaking to a parliament committee examining the government’s approach to Brexit, also said the Irish government could not be more helpful than it was being at present due to its status as an EU member.

Mark Bowman, a senior finance ministry official speaking alongside Hammond, told lawmakers that Britain did not think it would be useful to produce a rival text to one released by the EU last week. Instead, British lawyers would be “all over” the EU draft and hoped to have constructive discussions about it.