Here is an example from a newspaper article yesterday which demonstrates the frustration regarding these negotiations when a true Brexiteer tries to be involved:
‘FORMER Brexit secretary Dominic Raab yesterday admitted he felt pushed out of EU withdrawal negotiations by senior civil servants.
He said too much power was given to Whitehall during talks, leading to the principle of ministerial accountability being “frayed”.
Mr Raab said Oliver Robbins, the civil servant who leads the day-to-day negotiations with Brussels, was able to “circumvent” him as Brexit secretary because he reported directly to
Theresa May. “The challenge is when the senior civil servant is both the personal adviser to the Prime Minister but also leading the Civil Service team,” he told the Commons European scrutiny committee.
“That creates problems because you can circumvent the principle of ministerial accountability, which is vital to negotiations. That certainly happened,” he said.
The former minister, who resigned in November in protest at the EU exit deal, also said he was “very surprised” to find a key change to the terms of the controversial Brexit backstop included in official documents “without my knowledge or my agreement”.’