Boris Johnson and Michael Gove believe they are winning the battle for a "divergent" withdrawal from the EU after Theresa May chaired a Brexit "war Cabinet" meeting of senior ministers.

Mrs May told the 10-strong Cabinet Brexit subcommittee that the Government must "aim high" by bargaining hard for the best possible deal rather than accepting what the EU is currently prepared to offer.

Mr Johnson and Mr Gove were joined by Liam Fox and Gavin Williamson in calling for Britain to retain the right to diverge from EU rules and regulations to make it easier to strike trade deals with third party countries and free the UK from EU red tape.

Remainers on the committee, including Philip Hammond and Amber Rudd, struck a more "cautious" tone, as any divergence from EU rules could have implications for Northern Ireland, which has been promised "full alignment" with the EU in order to avoid a hard border with the Republic of Ireland.

A Cabinet source claimed that the "majority" of those present, who also included Damian Green, David Davis and Greg Clark, were sympathetic to the idea of "gradual divergence" from the EU at the end of the Brexit transition period, rather than a sudden break.