Labour tables 170 Brexit questions for David Davis as MPs debate EU divorce

Labour continues to pile the pressure on Brexit Secretary David Davis as the government faces more scrutiny from its own MPs and across the House of Commons over the UK's divorce from the EU.

Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer and Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry have demanded answers to 170 questions they have sent to Davis on the issue. The extensive list of queries concern everything from business, health and employment-related Brexit issues.

"If you are able to provide satisfactory answers to all these questions, just one per day from tomorrow until 31 March next year, it might give some confidence that the government is entering the Article 50 negotiations with a clear plan," Starmer and Thornberry said.

The move comes as Starmer is expected to table an Opposition Day motion in the Commons today, triggering another debate on Brexit among MPs.

The government has promised to trigger Article 50, the official mechanism to split from the EU, by March 2017.

But the decision has created a constitutional debate, with some MPs, such as former Labour leader Ed Miliband, arguing that parliament should have a say.

They are worried that the government, otherwise known as the executive, could undermine the UK's representative democracy with the move. Theresa May's administration will be forced to defend the stance in the High Court from tomorrow (13 October).

But Number 10 made a Brexit related concession last night, as May tabled an amendment to Labour's call to allow parliament to "properly scrutinise" the government's Brexit strategy.

Elsewhere, Davis has accused Treasury officials of attempting to "undermine" his negotiations with the EU. His comments come after a leaked document estimated that the UK could lose out on £66bn of tax revenues a year if the government goes through with a "hard Brexit".

"He thinks it is pulling the rug from beneath us," a friend of the Brexit secretary told the Daily Telegraph. The issue is likely to be as raised as Jeremy Corbyn clashes with May at Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) this afternoon.