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Brexit planning may cost £65m a year and need 520 more staff

The potential cost of negotiating Britain's departure from the European Union has been estimated at £65m a year, a report says.

Planning For Brexit: Silence Is Not A Strategy, by the Institute for Government, said another 520 civil servants would be needed across the trade and Brexit departments to cope with demands.

Responsibility for Brexit is being shared between the Foreign Office, the Department for Exiting the EU and the Department for International Trade.

But the report warned the division between Boris Johnson, David David and Liam Fox was risking squabbles and infighting.

Jill Rutter, who co-authored the report, said: "Ministers will be faced with a series of difficult choices over the shape of Brexit.

"These are too important to be left to normal interdepartmental wrangling and horse-trading."

The report warned that Prime Minister Theresa May needed to move quickly to set out a clear strategy, as her "silence about how she intends to reach an initial negotiating position is proving problematic".

It also said that, in the absence of a plan, off-the-cuff remarks were filling the void, leaving an environment that was "unsettling" for business and "perplexing" for countries the UK will need to negotiate with.

Mrs May has not said when she will trigger Article 50 and begin the two-year formal negotiations on leaving the EU, although Foreign Secretary Mr Johnson has said it will likely be early next year.

The report, however, says: "The current position of the outside world trying to divine the Government's position from the personal musings of individual ministers is creating unhelpful uncertainty - frustrating those looking for an early exit, perplexing those with whom we have to negotiate, and unsettling those looking to do business with the UK."

Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake, patron of Vote Leave Watch, said the report "graphically sets out the chaos and infighting at the heart of Government over Brexit planning".

A Government spokesman said: "Our departure from the EU represents a new chapter for Britain and we're confident of getting a good deal for the whole country, which makes the most of the new freedoms Brexit will afford us.

"Since the referendum, the Prime Minister has put the machinery of government behind getting the best deal, creating a dedicated Department for Exiting the EU and a Department for International Trade."