PM distances herself from Brexit secretary’s remarks that staying in is ‘improbable’ as spokeswoman says she will be ‘ambitious’ in negotiations

David Davis was expressing his opinion rather than government policy when he said it would be unlikely for Britain to stay in the single market after Brexit negotiations, the prime minister’s spokeswoman has said.

The secretary of state for exiting the EU told MPs on Monday that the government’s priority was securing restrictions to European migration, and conceded that there could be an economic price to pay for that.

“This government is looking at every option but the simple truth is that if a requirement of membership is giving up control of our borders, I think that makes it very improbable,” he said, during a debate that followed his statement updating colleagues on Brexit planning so far.



But a senior Downing Street official sought to distance Theresa May from the statement. “He is setting out his view that [single market membership] is improbable,” the spokeswoman told journalists, adding that the work on the negotiations was ongoing. “The prime minister recognises that people have differing views and … all of this has to be negotiated with European partners. The prime minister’s view is that we should be ambitious and go after the best deal we can. The secretary of state said we want the best deal for trades and services: that is what the prime minister is doing.”

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However, asked again if Davis was expressing a government policy, she said: “He is setting out his opinion. A policy tends to be a direction of travel: saying something is probable or improbable is not policy.”

The spokeswoman also addressed reports that the government is planning to demand a system under which EU citizens coming to the UK must have a job offer. “I’d point you to what the prime minister has said,” she said, highlighting May’s view that the referendum result was a “clear message” that British people wanted to be able to control EU migration. “But there are various ways you can do that and it is something the government is looking at and will come forward with proposals.”

She would not confirm the reports, saying the government had yet to set out any of the options it was looking at, and insisting that it was “not always the right approach to put all your cards on the table at the start”.

She said: “There are range of ways in which you might seek to bring in controls. I didn’t see or hear the prime minister pointing to one particular system, what you’ve seen is her talking about a [points-based immigration] system that she doesn’t think will work.”