Leading Brexiteers to pressure Theresa May for 'bespoke' EU trade deal

Theresa May is set to face demands from leading Cabinet Brexiteers to secure a "bespoke" trade deal with the EU.

Foreign secretary Boris Johnson and environment secretary Michael Gove both voiced strong support for Mrs May's last-minute breakthrough in talks on Friday.

But reports say the same figures of the Leave campaign are planning to demand a deal which allows Britain to abandon existing EU regulations.

Mr Gove is reportedly pushing for the UK to leave the common fisheries policy and take control of its sovereign waters.

Insiders claim both Mr Gove and Mr Johnson are clashing with Cabinets ministers who want to remain more closely aligned with the bloc.

The rumours come amid speculation over heightened Cabinet tensions. The Daily Mail reported on Sunday that the Prime Minister had to "separate" chancellor Philip Hammond and defence secretary Gavin Williamson in an alleged bust-up over military spending cuts.

The Prime Minister already faces the prospect of a defeat in the House of Commons, as a group of cross-party MPs is set to demand a "meaningful" vote in the House on any final Brexit deal.

The Pound jumped to a six-month high on Friday as the European Commission formally recommended that “sufficient progress” has been made for negotiations to begin on the crucial issues of future UK-EU relations.

After a night of negotiations, the deal confirmed all sides want to avoid a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and guaranteed the rights of EU citizens in the UK and vice versa.

It was quickly noted, however, that the deal does not make clear how this is to be achieved.

Mr Gove led Brexiteers hailing the breakthrough in the EU “divorce” talks but other prominent MPs voiced continuing concerns over Britain giving in to demands from Brussels.

Likewise, Mr Johnson praised Theresa May, but he stressed that the future trade deal being sought by the UK must “remain true” to last year’s referendum result.

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said: “Although this agreement is not perfect it does give us grounds to move forward on to trade negotiations.

“Most importantly Mrs May has made clear we are leaving and we are leaving the customs union and the single market.”

For Labour, shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said the development was “encouraging”, but added: “We cannot have another year of chaos and confusion or the farcical scenes we saw earlier on in the week that put jobs and the economy at risk.”

Negotiations are set to move onto Phase II, focusing on the details of trade between the UK and the EU, imminently.