Theresa May intervenes as key Cabinet ministers David Davis and Philip Hammond row over leaving EU customs union
Brexit Secretary David Davis and Chancellor Philip Hammond disagree over terms of Brexit
THERESA May was dragged into a bitter new civil war between Cabinet big beasts over leaving the EU customs union.
The PM slapped down Brexit Secretary David Davis when he said Britain will cut ties with Brussels in March 2019.
He insisted neither customs union nor single market membership would feature in a transitional deal after this date.
But it came as Chancellor Philip Hammond warned against a “disruptive and dangerous cliff edge” in trading links after 2019.
He told an audience in Berlin there had to be a “smooth and orderly path” under any Brexit deal.
The PM’s spokeswoman said it was “not in anyone’s interests for there to be a cliff edge”.
And she insisted: “When we leave the EU, we will leave the customs union. But we will need a period of implementation.”
No10 also isolated Mr Davis over the length of a transitional deal.
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He contradicted Mr Hammond’s claim it could last five years, to insist it should only be “one to two”.
Her spokeswoman insisted Mrs May had set no time frame on it yet, saying: “That will be determined as we go through negotiations.”
But Mr Davis yesterday said he agreed with the Chancellor that Brexit should safeguard “jobs and prosperity”.
He told business leaders at The Times CEO Summit in London that he did not want to “slam the door” on workers from the EU.
He said: “My job is to bring back control of migration to Westminster, it’s not to slam the door on immigration.
“We will bring immigration down but in a way and a pace that does not cause shortages or undermine need for new talent.”
— THE PM will find it impossible to end EU free movement in 2019 due to the huge task of processing national residency permits, the Institute for Government think tank claims.