Trade groups have been invited to hold their first consultations on the future EU-UK trade deal, The Telegraph has learned, amid rising fears among industry that ideology will trump practical considerations in the coming talks.

With less than five weeks to go before formal negotiations open in Brussels in early March, interviews with eight major business lobby groups by The Telegraph have revealed widely shared concerns about the Government’s grasp of critical details of the negotiation.

Since the election, all the major UK trade groups said there had been no consultations on the imminent UK-EU negotiations. One described the office of David Frost, the UK’s lead negotiator as a “black box”. Another said proposed talks were probably “too little, too late”.

The veil of secrecy over the objectives for the EU-UK negotiation has been in sharp contrast with preparations for US and Japanese negotiations where groups report much higher levels of “stakeholder engagement” via Trade Advisory Groups and other panels.

“There is some general consultation on the US-UK and other international deals, but absolutely nothing on the UK-EU side. If you were cynical, you would think they don’t want to hear the arguments,” added a third trade group source on condition of anonymity to preserve relations with the Government.

However The Telegraph understands that Michael Gove, the minister expected to take overall charge of Brexit negotiations, will meet this week with the “M5” manufacturing association and the British Retail Consortium, National Farmers’ Union and British Chambers’ of Commerce.