Michael Gove: Experts should not be treated as prophets

Michael Gove has defended the official Leave campaign's rhetoric during the EU referendum, arguing that experts are too often treated as prophets.

Michael Gove has said that experts are too often treated as prophets. Picture: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

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Mr Gove called for more scrutiny of predictions from economists from organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) following criticism for saying voters had “had enough of experts”.

Speaking on the Today programme, he also defended the claim that Brexit would result in £350 million per week of additional investment in the NHS, saying: “the money is there”. Mr Gove said: “I think the right response in a democracy to assertions made by experts is to say ‘show us the evidence, show us the facts’.”

Meanwhile, the general secretary of the senior civil servants’ union the FDA, said the government was adding to pressure on Whitehall departments by refusing to admit the complexity of Brexit.

Dave Penman said “pure politics” was forcing the Prime Minister to deny that leaving the EU is a “big, difficult job”.

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