Showdown stops David Davis from resigning: Brexit Secretary lets rumours run rife for hours in stand-off over 'backstop' concession

Brexit Secretary David Davis arrives at Downing Street today
Simon Dawson/Getty Images
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Three Cabinet ministers staged face-to-face showdowns with Theresa May today as a furious split deepened over her Brexit strategy.

Brexit Secretary David Davis let speculation run rife for hours that he was threatening to resign as he held out for a last-minute concession in a brazen stand-off with Downing Street.

Mr Davis’s allies claimed he had secured clearer wording about the UK’s commitment to a cut-off for ties with the EU.

But the document published later contained merely an “expectation” that the EU would agree to a time-limit of December 2021 at the latest, something Brussels is unlikely to agree.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox also saw the Prime Minister separately in her office at the House of Commons.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox also saw the Prime Minister
AFP/Getty Images

While No 10 claimed the key meeting with Mr Davis was “constructive”, there was an ominous silence from the Brexit Secretary for several hours.

He went into a second meeting with Mrs May, this time at the Cabinet Office. There were mixed messages from the Government in a morning of confusion and drama.

One government source claimed the 30-minute meeting between Mr Davis and Mrs May had been “conclusive” and that a delayed paper setting out a controversial Northern Ireland border “backstop” would be published imminently.

However, that was contradicted by other sources who told the Standard that Mr Davis had gone back to his department to wait for a better offer.

The bizarre stand-off continued into lunchtime with Westminster ablaze with speculation that the Prime Minister could be forced to perform yet another reshuffle if her veteran Europe expert walked out. One Whitehall source said: “We think No 10 are trying to turn up the temperature.”

At 12.40pm, it emerged that Mr Davis had secured some extra detail in the policy document — but it was not clear whether his brinkmanship had won a major change to Mrs May’s policy.

A source close to Mr Davis said: “Obviously there’s been a back and forth on this paper, as there always is whenever the Government publishes anything.

"The backstop paper has been amended and now expresses, in much more detail, the time-limited nature of our proposal, something the PM and DD have always been committed to.”

The wording of the revised document however only states: “The UK is clear that the temporary customs arrangement, should it be needed, should be time limited, and that it will be only in place until the future customs arrangement can be introduced.”

It adds: “The UK expects the future arrangement to be in place by the end of December 2021 at the latest.”

Downing Street said Mr Davis was expected to remain in his post.

The Standard learned that the row was caused by Downing Street efforts to avoid defeat on the customs union when the Commons votes on Lords amendments on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Former Cabinet members Amber Rudd, Damian Green and Justine Greening were among Remainers secretly briefed on the document on Tuesday.

Mr Johnson and Dr Fox were among Brexiteers on the Brexit sub-committee who received a document with the proposals only yesterday morning.

In Brussels, officials made clear they would simply throw out any UK proposal that contained a cut-off date that might risk a hard border with Northern Ireland.

Patience with UK negotiators appeared to be running out. One senior EU source said: “Brexit is not a rational economic process and negotiation, it’s a purely politically driven process, and that’s why you never come to serious solutions. That’s why the deal will always be a lousy deal.”

Frustration is also growing with Mrs May’s handling of the customs issue. “We will not throw her under a bus,” one senior EU source of the forthcoming summit said. “But on the other hand we will not give her any gifts.”

The source added: “Probably, she is the most sensible person in the Tory party to deal with now, understanding all the nuances, but we’re not going to sell out on our points.”

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