Rishi Sunak did not know Michael Gove was attending a private meeting of former Leave and Remain chiefs to discuss Brexit, Downing Street has said.
The prime minister’s spokesperson said Mr Sunak had become aware of the cabinet minister’s attendance at the talks when he read about it in the Sunday newspapers.
It comes after David Frost, the UK’s former chief Brexit negotiator, claimed that the meeting, at the Ditchley Park retreat in Oxfordshire, amounted to a plot to undermine the Brexit agreement he had struck.
Lord Frost said the “secret” meeting was “a further piece of evidence that many in our political and business establishment want to unravel the deals we did to exit the EU in 2020 and to stay shadowing the EU instead”.
The former negotiator told the Daily Mail: “That’s why so many of those responsible for Theresa May’s failed backstop deal were there, while I and those who actually delivered the Brexit agreements were not.”
It was originally reported by The Observer that levelling up secretary Michael Gove – who co-led the Vote Leave campaign in 2016 – was in attendance for the discussions, alongside senior members of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet.
Lord Frost continued: “Brexit doesn’t need ‘fixing’. It needs this Conservative government, elected with a huge mandate on a Brexit programme, to fully and enthusiastically embrace its advantages instead of leaving the field to those who never wanted it in the first place.
“I and millions of others want the government to get on with that instead of raising taxes, deterring investment and pushing public spending to its highest level for 70 years.”
The significance of the event was played down by sources with knowledge of the meeting. It is understood that Mr Gove attended the meeting because he is a governor at Ditchley Park. He no longer has any involvement in setting Brexit policy in his role as levelling up secretary.
A Labour source said: “This was a bog-standard Ditchley Park conference. Their events are always cross-party.” Another source familiar with the event said it was in fact a “quite dull conference” on foreign affairs.
The prime minister earlier appeared to swerve questions about the meeting, telling broadcasters during a visit to Oldham on Monday that he wanted to “drive growth in our economy by seizing the opportunities of Brexit, to do things differently”.
It is not about the meeting – I’m talking about what the government is doing, and that’s making sure we capitalise on the benefits of Brexit— Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
He added: “It is not about the meeting – I’m talking about what the government is doing, and that’s making sure we capitalise on the benefits of Brexit.”
Lord Frost’s comments come after the UK and the EU reiterated their commitment to finding “joint solutions” to differences around the post-Brexit Northern Ireland protocol. The protocol was agreed between the two parties in 2019 as a way to unlock the logjam over securing a Brexit withdrawal agreement.
There is mounting speculation that a deal is finally on the cards to reduce the red tape on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
