David Cameron faces hostile MPs at Liaison Committee on EU – ‘expect a writ!’

After Prime Minister’s Questions turned into ‘Questions for the Leader of the Opposition’, David Cameron did at least face some scrutiny today in the form of the Liaison Committee. Summoned before its chair Andrew Tyrie to answer questions on the EU referendum, it was clear that Cameron would rather not be there — having tried to get out of attending back in April.

Things got off to a tetchy start as Tyrie attempted to pin the PM down on whether he would have campaigned for Brexit had his renegotiation fell through. The pair then bickered over whether Tyrie’s question could be classed as hypothetical:

AT: I’m asking you a real question — not a hypothetical one — which is would the current arrangements in the EU be so unsatisfactory that you would be arguing we should leave?

DC: That is a hypothetical question. You’re question actually begins with the word ‘if’. If you hadn’t got a renegotiation would you have stayed in the EU — that is a hypothetical question and my point is I never wanted the British people to have to answer that question and that is why I said we wanted a renegotiation and then a referendum.