Speaking as she travelled to NY for a UN General Assembly meeting, she said all 27 European Union states would agree to the Brexit deal Britain wants.
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She was speaking after Slovakian leader Robert Fico warned that Britain should expect the negotiation process to be “very painful”. May, who says she will implement Brexit even though she argued against it before the vote, met Wall Street bankers and the heads of some of North America’s biggest companies on Monday night in an attempt to reassure them on Brexit.
May made the remarks before she left for NY to attend the ongoing 71st session of the UN General Assembly.
“And that’s why I think the government needs to be saying this is what the plan is, this is where we want to get to”.
She distanced herself from International Trade Secretary Liam Fox’s attack on British business culture as she urged firms to take the opportunities offered by Brexit.
Fico had said that member states intend to make it “very hard for the UK” and said Britain is “bluffing” when it says it can get a good Brexit deal.
Mrs May distanced herself from Dr Fox’s unguarded comments about “fat” and “lazy” British business leaders being more interested in golf than winning export orders.
May, who did not meet either Trump or Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton on her trip, avoided public mention of Britain’s close alliance with the United States in her speech.
There are reportedly divisions within the Cabinet over the best approach to Brexit and Mrs May said it was “important to have a range of views” when taking a decision.
Passporting rights are considered to be one of several important factors underlying the strength of the City of London financial district and there have been many warnings that losing them would represent a severe blow for the industry.
“The Exiting the EU Department is the focus of those negotiations, but obviously others around the table all have interests in how those go”.
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Over the weekend, it was reported that a key group of states in eastern Europe was promising to veto any Brexit deal which would damage the rights of their citizens to live and work in the United Kingdom.
