THERESA MAY’S Brexit deal has failed to satisfy either leavers or remainers and now her Government’s failure to publish its full legal advice on the deal has united all parties in a condemnation which could end in the Attorney-General, Geoffrey Cox, being held in contempt of Parliament.

It is possible to understand the Government’s position in that legal advice has to be confidential if it is going to be given fully and frankly, but Parliament did pass a “humble address” which requires the advice to be published.

By not publishing, the Government looks as if it has something to hide – even though Mr Cox was certain yesterday that “there was nothing to see here”.

But if Brexit was about anything it was taking back control from undemocratic elites and making the British Parliament sovereign. It looks very bad if Parliament tries to democratically exercise its sovereignty only for the Government to thwart it.

MPs fear that if they back the deal they will be voting to entrap the UK in an inescapable backstop. The advice might help them decide how big a risk they are taking, and if the Government really wants MPs to trust it, it has to help them by giving them every shred of evidence about why this deal is a good thing.

It must be in the public interest for MPs to be in possession of every nuance when they vote on this enormous decision.

A savvy government would have seen this predicament coming and headed it off by publishing the advice to avoid being damned.