British government has 'buried' review into EU ties - MPs

LONDON (Reuters) - Members of Parliament on Wednesday accused the British government of burying a major review into Britain's relationship with the European Union meant to inform public opinion ahead of a possible referendum on membership of the bloc. Prime Minister David Cameron has promised to renegotiate Britain's EU ties before holding a referendum by the end of 2017 if re-elected at a national vote in May. His government commissioned an extensive civil service investigation into how the EU affects British life in 32 areas from health and education to the economy, tax and immigration, which was completed at the end of last year. But in a report published on Wednesday, a committee of members of Parliament from the upper house of parliament said the review had not been publicised well enough and had probably cost more than double the government's estimate of 1.78 million pounds ($2.65 million). "There is no point spending up to 5 million pounds of public money on an excellent review, and then burying it. People need to know the facts about the UK-EU relationship," said Timothy Boswell, Chairman of the House of Lords EU Committee. The committee also criticised the government for failing to provide an overall analysis of the findings of the review, which was published as 32 individual reports. "As a result, this major project, despite the good quality of its outputs, has yet to deliver an outcome, in the form of measurable benefits. It has so far made no impact on the public debate on the UK-EU relationship," the committee said. (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Andrew Osborn)