Divides in the cabinet could delay Brexit decisions by six months, a leaked assessment says

Whitehall is working on more than 500 Brexit-related projects and could need to hire 30,000 extra civil servants, according to a leaked memo prepared for the Cabinet Office.

Splits within the cabinet also mean that the government may need another six months to decide on its priorities, according to the assessment by a consultant working for the department.

The memo, dated November 7 and titled Brexit Update, says that “major players” in industry are expected to “point a gun at the government’s head” after ministers gave assurances that the carmaker Nissan would not suffer when Britain left the EU.

It is critical of Theresa May’s governing style, saying that her tendency of “drawing in decisions and details to settle matters herself” cannot be sustained,