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A Cabinet minister admitted today that MPs are being asked to approve the Government’s plan to split from the EU with no specific assessment of the long-term harm it could inflict on the economy.

Rishi Sunak, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, faced a barrage of questions this morning about the economic impact of the free trade agreement which ministers want to strike with Brussels.

He failed to give an estimate despite a Government analysis a year ago suggesting such looser ties with the European bloc could deliver a blow to the economy of around six per cent after 15 years.

Christine Lagarde, the incoming president of the European Central Bank and former head of the International Monetary Fund, said Brexit would cause economic damage in Britain and other European countries.

“It will affect both the UK and certain countries in the EU, Ireland in particular, Germany, the Netherlands. Everybody will be a little less well off as a result,” she told Sky News.

Presenter Kay Burley put Mr Sunak on the spot over whether millions of families would be worse or better off under the Government’s Brexit proposals.

He sidestepped the question, stressing that what MPs were now being asked to vote on was the “divorce” deal from the EU, rather than the future relationship.

However, challenged again on this economic question, he responded: “You are talking about a future relationship and that is obviously not something that we can talk about right now because it has not been negotiated yet.”

He highlighted Bank of England governor Mark Carney saying the current withdrawal agreement would be a “net economic positive” in the short term as it would end the uncertainty crippling many businesses.

But Mr Carney also warned that the Brexit deal might not boost the economy as much as Theresa May’s plan which foresaw closer future ties with the European bloc.

Mr Sunak was pressed on the Government’s own analysis suggesting that within 15 years the economy could be around six per cent smaller with a Canada-style free trade agreement than it would otherwise have been, compared to a blow of up to four per cent under Mrs May’s blueprint.

He replied that these scenarios were “different alternatives” from Boris Johnson’s plan, and he rejected that people would be worse off under the latest Brexit proposal than under Mrs May’s plan.

However, Opposition MPs condemned the Government for asking MPs to vote on the withdrawal agreement with scant detail about the possible harm to the economy.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said: “It cannot be rational or sensible for the Government to expect anyone to take a decision that will determine our economic future without a proper assessment of the effect on our economy. This is truly irresponsible.”

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Sir Ed Davey said: “You shouldn’t buy a house without looking at a surveyor’s report.”

The Standard revealed earlier this month that the Treasury was not planning to provide any updated long-term economic scenarios document, similar to the one published last November, before MPs vote on the “divorce” deal.

In the short term, the Centre for European Reform estimates that Britain’s economy is already £69 billion smaller than it would have been if the country had not voted for Brexit.

However, despite the economy going into reverse, employment figures have remained extremely robust.