Davis Expressing Own View on Single Market, May Spokeswoman Says

“So when people are given that choice, we will make the case loudly and clearly that we believe Britain should stay in the European Union”, Farron added.

It is a huge task for the world’s fifth largest economy, which is struggling to flesh out May’s oft-repeated slogan: “Brexit means Brexit”.

And she said Mrs May maintained an “open mind” about what could be secured from negotiations with the remaining 27 member states under Article 50 of the European Union treaties, and planned to be “ambitious” in her stance.

The Brexit Secretary told MPs it was “very improbable” that Britain would remain a member of the single market if it faced making concessions on border controls.

She said the Australian-style system would not give Britain sufficient control of who enters the country, as sought by Brexit backers.

Mr Davis replied: “In the referendum that we have just had, the biggest mandate ever given to a British government, a clear large part of it was the question of immigration, and the Prime Minister has made it very plain that the current state of immigration can not go on and we will bring it to an end as a part of this process”.

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said Mr Davis’s negotiating position was a “pipe dream”.

The exchange indicates the difficulty May faces in striking a consensus within her own government about how to achieve Brexit.

Opposition MPs even shouted “waffle” at him as he delivered his incredibly lengthy speech – you know you’re having a bad day when the champions of waffling accuse you of such.

– Hard or soft Brexit?

“In the next two years we will be developing that team to build the world class negotiating strengths needed to deliver the best outcomes for the United Kingdom”, he said, adding that it would also hire experts in specific sectors of the economy.

But she stressed she wanted Britain to “become the global leader in free trade”. A source close to Mrs May said she objected to points-based systems because they were hard for governments to control and she would prefer a system that could be more directly influenced. What about food and drink producers? – and we are getting nothing. The uncertainty is weighing on businesses and investors.

The petition, which has received the highest number of signatures on the e-petition system, asked for the Government to implement a rule that there should be another referendum on the European Union membership question if the vote failed to achieve the two thresholds.

More than 1,000 Japanese companies do business in Britain, employing some 140,000 local people.