Senior minister Liam Fox, who campaigned for Brexit, has said he is aiming for Britain to be out of the European Union in 2019.
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Despite Mr Davis’s comment being made from the despatch box – where ministers are expected to speak on behalf of the Government – the Prime Minister’s spokeswoman said he was expressing a personal opinion rather than official policy.
Mrs May is heading straight to a meeting of the Cabinet after landing back in the country following the brief trip to China for the G20 meeting of world leaders, where she sought to win support for the United Kingdom as it prepares for life outside the EU.
Davis has said European Union migrants arriving between now and Britain’s departure from the bloc may not be guaranteed the right to remain, warning of a potential “surge” in arrivals before Brexit.
Mr Davis insisted there will be no attempt to “delay, frustrate or thwart” the will of the British people for the country to leave the EU. “So can the Prime Minister tell the House what the Government’s policy actually is?” She said the prime minister remains “ambitious” to “go after the best deal that we can get for the U.K.” and that planning for negotiations on leaving the bloc is continuing.
“I know many people are keen to see rapid progress and to understand what post-Brexit Britain will look like”.
“The simple truth is, if a requirement of membership is giving up control of our borders, I think that makes it very improbable”.
“It’s not about the Norway model or the Swiss model or any other country’s model – it’s about developing our own British model”.
“Nobody would blame her because she hasn’t revealed her hand or indeed any of the Government’s many hands”.
Mr Davis had appeared to clarify the government’s position on a future Brexit deal by admitting that limiting migration would prevent Britain securing full access to the single market.
She ruled out an Australian-style immigration system that assigns points based on education and skills for would-be migrants, saying there was no “silver bullet” for limiting numbers.
She said: “When the British people voted to leave the European Union, they did not vote to leave Europe, to turn inwards or to walk away from the G20 or any of our worldwide partners around the world”. We have always understood that our success as a sovereign nation is inextricably bound up in our trade and our co-operation with others.
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“We want to maintain or even strengthen our co-operation on security and defense”.
