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Brexit-backing minister defends civil service

A Leave-supporting Treasury minister has said that he does not believe the civil service deliberately forecast negative Brexit assessments. Leaked impact reports ordered by the Treasury predicted a slowing in economic growth for the UK in every situation modelled. Eurosceptic Conservative backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg has claimed that civil servants' Brexit forecasts are "clearly politically influenced". However, Kwasi Kwarteng told The Westminster Hour he disagrees with Mr Rees-Mogg's claims. He said: "I do not agree with him when he says they fiddled the figures, because that implies that there was an intent to deceive and I don't think that that's what they were doing."

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