Responding to speculation that the PM will negotiate a temporary customs arrangement with the EU, Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson Tom Brake said:

“The Government is making a diabolical mess of Brexit. Theresa May now attempting some kind of a temporary customs union is further evidence of a Tory cartoon cabinet, driving Britain off the cliff and hoping to defy gravity.

“This is a shortsighted approach, with no proper answers for businesses, for people worried about their future prospects or the issues around the border of Northern Ireland and Ireland.

“If the PM was acting in the national interest rather than desperately seeking to hold the Tory party together, she would maintain our place in the customs union and protect UK businesses and jobs which depend on trade with our EU partners.

“Instead, the Prime Minister is running out of time and support on both sides of the channel. The government must move Britain away from the brink and offer the people a final say on the deal and the chance to exit from Brexit.”