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David Davis quitting as Brexit secretary would be 'deeply dangerous for the country', former Tory minister warns Theresa May

Brexit secretary rumoured to be considering resigning amid tensions with prime minister over customs backstop

Benjamin Kentish

Political Correspondent

Thursday 07 June 2018 08:51 BST

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David Davis admits 'backstop' customs option of Brexit settlement is yet to be agreed by the Cabinet

Theresa May has been warned losing David Davis would "deeply dangerous" amid reports the Brexit secretary is considering resigning.

In a sign of growing concern among Tory Eurosceptics over Downing Street’s Brexit plans, David Jones, a former Brexit minister, told the prime minister she must keep Mr Davis on side.

If comes ahead of a crunch meeting of the Brexit war cabinet, with Mr May and Mr Davis set for a showdown over plans for a customs “backstop”.

Reports suggest the Brexit secretary is considering resigning if the proposal is published without his approval. He has refused to deny the speculation, saying the question of whether he kept his job was a matter for the prime minister.

Mr Jones warned Ms May that Mr Davis "needs to stay where he is".

He told the BBC Radio 4's Today: "I don't think David Davis should resign. He's been outstandingly good at his job...he would be a huge loss to the government and I don't think we should contemplate that scenario.

"We need to make sure that David Davis stays at the negotiating table. Anything that caused him to leave would be deeply regrettable and deeply damaging to the country."

"I would be deeply upset if David Davis were no longer the Brexit secretary."

He added: "To contemplate these negotiations continuing without David Davis would be deeply upsetting and deeply dangerous for the country. David Davis needs to stay where he is."

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

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1/8The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Post-Brexit immigration

workers sorting radishes on a production line at a farm in Norfolk. One possible post-Brexit immigration scheme could struggle to channel workers towards less attractive roles - while another may heighten the risk of labour exploitation, a new report warns.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Customs union

A key point in the negotiations remains Britain's access to, or withdrawal from, the EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over the meaning of Brexit: would it entail a full withdrawal from the existing agreement, known as hard Brexit, or the soft version in which we would remain part of a common customs area for most goods, as Turkey does? No 10 has so far insisted that “Brexit means Brexit” and that Britain will be leaving the customs union, but may be inclined to change its position once the potential risks to the UK’s economic outlook become clearer.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Northern Ireland-Irish border

Though progress was made last year, there has still been no solid agreement on whether there should be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure borderless travel on the island, the countries must be in regulatory alignment and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative Party’s coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea due to its potential to undermine the union. May has promised that would not be the case and has suggested that a “specific solution” would need to be found.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Transition period

Despite protests from a small number of Conservative MPs, the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period is needed after Brexit. The talks, however, have reached an impasse. Though May has agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Rights of EU citizens living the UK

The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work here after Brexit, but the rights of those who arrive after Brexit day remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Future trade agreement (with the EU)

Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position from being reached, with some MPs content that "no deal is better than a bad deal" while others rally behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining in the customs union.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Future trade agreements (internationally)

The Government has already begun trying to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high profile state visits to China, India and Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the world's major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transition period.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Financial services

Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing hopes of a special City deal. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget even after the transition period.

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The "backstop" proposal is designed as a fall-back solution if no other arrangement is reached for avoiding a hard border in Northern Ireland, but the cabinet is divided over whether it should include a specific time limit.

Brexiteers, led by Mr Davis, want a legally-binding, clear limit but Downing Street. The current proposal is understood to pledge the arrangement would be temporary but not include a specific cut-off. No 10 believes a strict time limit means the plan would be dismissed by the EU.

Mr Jones warned the prime minister the current proposal was "unacceptable"

"An arrangement whereby we're indefinitely tied to EU customs arrangements, which means that we won't be able to have our independent trade policy, which means we'll be tied effectively to European Court of Justice jurisdiction, would just not be acceptable, I think, to the mass of the Conservative Party."

He added: "If that is what is proposed it's going to cause an awful lot of problems within the parliamentary party."

Speaking at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) on Wednesday, Mr Davis refused to rule out the possibility of resigning.

Asked if he would be able to stay in his job if the backstop proposal was published without his approval, the Brexit secretary said: “That’s a question, I think, for the prime minister, to be honest.”

He also confirmed the plan was yet to agreed by ministers, saying: “The detail of this is being discussed at the moment. it’s been through one cabinet committee, it’s going to another and it would be improper of me to pre-empt the negotiations there, but I suspect it will be fairly decisive.”

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