Britain has not conducted a formal sector-by-sector analysis of the impact that leaving the European Union will have on the economy, Brexit minister David Davis said on Wednesday, arguing they were not necessary at the current time.

The comments are likely to inflame critics of the government's handling of the complex divorce process at a time when talks with Brussels have stalled because of a row over how to manage the Irish border after Brexit.

Davis has become embroiled in a long-running argument with lawmakers from across parliament over what preparatory work the government has undertaken, and how much of it should be made public.

“There's no systematic impact assessment I'm aware of,” Davis told a parliamentary committee, saying it would be more appropriate to conduct such analysis later in the negotiating process.

That drew immediate criticism from lawmakers on the committee, who said Davis was contradicting his previous statement that the government had analyses of the sectoral impact that went into “excruciating detail”.