09:04

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer told the Today programme earlier that David Davis’s resignation was a “huge blow” to the prime minister and made a no-deal Brexit more likely. He told Today:

The Brexit secretary has resigned, effectively voting no-confidence in the prime minister and that plunges her into further chaos ... It exposes what has been the heart of the problem all along which is a huge division in the cabinet between those that want to stay economically close to the EU and those that want to rip up the economic model we’ve been operating for decades.

Starmer rejected the suggestion that the Chequers agreement amounted to Labour policy on Brexit. He said:

Look at the differences: we have argued for a comprehensive customs union with the EU. The prime minister has come up with a facilitated customs agreement that works on the basis that you can distinguish at the border goods that are going to stay in the UK and those that are going to go beyond to the EU. Businesses and everybody knows that is unworkable. It is dual system is a bureaucratic nightmare.

Labour plans to force a vote on the customs bill next week, Starmer said.



We have amendments down saying that the negotiation should seek to keep us in a customs union with the EU.

Asked why Labour wasn’t calling for a second referendum, Starmer said: