Ruth Davidson suggests Theresa May ready to change strategy towards softer Brexit

Ruth Davidson has used her newfound influence in Westminster to tell Theresa May she must pursue a softer “open Brexit” which prioritises free trade over cutting immigration.

The Scottish Conservative leader met the Prime Minister before sitting in on a "political cabinet" meeting at No 10 after her 13 Scottish MPs effectively kept Mrs May in power.

She claimed afterwards there was a “clear recognition” that the government must seek a general consensus on how to leave the EU and must prioritise the economy.

The high-profile Remain campaigner has been tipped as a possible future prime minister. She wants the country to have the ability to trade in “as free a way as it does at the moment”, but accepts the UK may not remain in the single market.

Her position, putting the economy ahead of immigration, would flip Mrs May’s stated priorities in a “hard Brexit”, and is very far from the Prime Minister’s former position that “no deal is better than a bad deal”.

The bloc of 13 Scottish MPs will take the Tory whip, but Ms Davidson plans to use their influence in a hung parliament to change government policy on Brexit.

She described it as a “useful and positive discussion” and said it was clear around the cabinet table that there was “a recognition that as we are not in the majority, as we are in the minority, we will have to reach out and work with others”.

She told BBC Scotland: “And there was also a clear understanding that the prime pursuit as we leave the European Union is to make sure that we look after the economy and that we prioritise free trade and I think there was a general consensus on that.

“There was a real understanding that we will be united as a group we will work well with others and that is exactly what we will do.”

Ms Davidson added that it was vital that the government got on with talks to “deliver certainty for firms across the UK” and said she also made it clear that “as we leave the European Union we must leave the Common Fisheries Policy and ensure a good deal for our fishing communities”.

She said: “The Prime Minister is focused on getting the right deal with Brexit and I give her my full support.”

Ms Davidson led the Scottish party to a stunning success last Thursday that saw 13 MPs elected. In the process, the Conservatives won nearly 324,000 votes more in Scotland than they did in 2015, when they returned just one MP.

It is understood she also discussed with the Prime Minister plans to keep up the pressure on Nicola Sturgeon to take a proposed second Scottish independence referendum off the table.

Sources close to the Scottish Tory leader believe Ms Sturgeon will have to break her silence before Thursday's First Minister's Questions, or face further political damage.

The Scottish Conservative leader was in Downing Street as Ms Sturgeon met her much reduced group of 35 MPs outside the Houses of Parliament.

The First Minister called for a “short pause” in Brexit negotiations in order to secure a cross-party, four nation agreement - a suggestion that was quickly swept aside.

A spokesman for Mrs May said: “We gave a commitment right at the very outset of this process to consult with the devolved administrations and that remains the case."

Meanwhile, despite pro-union parties winning almost two thirds of the vote in Scotland, Ms Sturgeon  questioned whether it was "overly simplistic" to say the vote was a rejection of indyref2.

Asked if her call for a new vote was wrong, she said: "I have said I will reflect on the outcome of the election and I will do that carefully and in discussion with colleagues across the SNP. I won't do it to a timetable dictated by headline-hungry journalists or based on any overly simplistic analysis of the election."

She has been asked repeatedly since a disastrous election that saw the SNP lose 21 MPs, including Alex Salmond and Angus Robertson, the party’s Westminster leader, if she will now take indyref2 off her agenda.

But she has so far only said she will reflect on the result, while admitting the issue played a part in the outcome.