The Prime Minister, who yesterday attended the opening of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, insisted controls on the movement of people from the European Union to Britain needed to be imposed as part of an exit deal with Brussels.
Advertisement
Shinzo Abe called for more “predictability” about the process after the leaders met for brief talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China.
And she said that other world leaders had been “very keen” on talks on new trade agreements with the United Kingdom in the wake of its withdrawal from the European Union.
A Number 10 official said Mr Xi understood why Mrs May felt the need to take a fresh look at agreements made by her predecessor.
He added: “I think there will be a lot of people today who voted for Brexit, who were happy when the Prime Minister said “Brexit means Brexit”, but are now just a little bit anxious”. “There will be no second referendum” and “no attempt to get out of this”, she said.
He offered May reassurance that Britain’s closest political, commercial and military ally would stand by her, but did not shrink away from his stance that Brexit was a mistake and that London would not be able to jump the queue to arrange a bilateral deal.
She voiced optimism about the health of Britain’s economy but warned that there could be tough times ahead.
On her way to the summit, May told reporters Britain’s economy will suffer as a result of the decision to leave the European Union despite signs in recent economic data that the impact has not been as severe as some predicted. However, he warned that we should bear in mind that Japanese auto firms invested some £260 million in the 4 years up to 2014 in the UK.
‘An enormous amount of trade already takes place, there is a lot of investment between British companies in the United States and USA companies in the UK.
Mrs May said: “I don’t think we want to look at a model”.
Labour MP Chuka Umunna, who chairs Vote Leave Watch, slammed Brexiteers and then ripped into the PM – who was a “reluctant Remainer” in the referendum campaign.
Foreign Minister Boris Johnson – one of the leaders of the Brexit campaign – has said such a combination can be achieved with a points-based immigration system similar to the Australian model.
On the British economy she told the BBC: “We have had some good figures and better figures that some had predicted would be the case, but what is important for us now is that we maintain that policy of ensuring economic stability and a strong economy for the future”.
Advertisement
During a trip to Northern Ireland on Thursday, Davis said Britain would ideally have tariff-free access to the EU’s single market.
