PM will host Donald Tusk for first significant discussions after stating she will not give ‘running commentary’ Brexit plan

Theresa May will host the European Council president, Donald Tusk, for a breakfast meeting in Downing Street on Thursday to discuss Britain’s future relationship with the European Union, after she told the House of Commons she would not give a “running commentary on negotiations”.

A Downing Street spokesperson said the pair would discuss next month’s European Council meeting, at which May is expected to be pressed by her fellow EU leaders about the next steps in the Brexit process.

The prime minister’s meeting with Tusk, the first substantive discussions between the two, comes after she gave away little about her plans at the first prime minister’s questions after the summer recess.

Following an exchange with Jeremy Corbyn on housing during which the prime minister mercilessly mocked the divisions in the Labour party – “We’re not going to let them anywhere near power again,” she said at one point – May was questioned by Angus Robertson on Brexit.

The SNP’s Westminster leader twice asked May whether she planned for a Brexit deal to include full membership of the EU’s single market in goods and services, as hoped for by many businesses.

May dodged the question both times, saying only that she would seek “the right deal for the trade in goods and services with the European Union in a new relationship we will be building with them”.

Amid some jeers in the Commons, she added: “That new relationship will include control of the movement of people from the EU into the UK, and it will include the right deal for the trade in goods and services. That is how to approach it.

“It would not be right for me or this government to give a running commentary on negotiations.”

Immediately after prime minister’s questions, May made a statement to the Commons on this week’s G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, beginning with an update on the Brexit process.

While giving no more details, she promised a specific British variant on non-membership association with the EU, one that would be “ambitious and bold”.

She said: “It is not about the Norway model or the Swiss model or any other country’s model – it is about developing our own British model.

“So we will not take decisions until we are ready. We will not reveal our hand prematurely and we will not provide a running commentary on every twist and turn of the negotiation. And I say that because that is not the best way to conduct a strong and mature negotiation that will deliver the best deal for the people of this country.”

In response, Corbyn said it was clear there had been a lack of planning for a Brexit vote. “The prime minister said she wouldn’t reveal her hand on this subject. Nobody would blame her because she hasn’t revealed her hand or indeed any of the government’s many hands. They’re unclear on what they’re trying to do,” he said.

“We accept the decision taken by the majority of our people but we cannot ignore the fact that the outcome has left this country divided, with rising levels of hate crime, huge uncertainty about what comes next for our country, the extraordinary lack of planning and preparation.”

Corbyn said negotiations “must focus on expanding trade jobs and investments and defending social and environmental protection”.

During prime minister’s questions, Corbyn chose not to take the advice from his leadership challenger, Owen Smith, to press May on the Brexit deal, instead asking a series of questions on housing, some again submitted by voters.

May dealt with the specific queries neutrally, but interspersed her answers with a series of scripted jibes at Corbyn and Labour.

After Corbyn mentioned a question put by one voter, May quoted one Twitter response the Labour leader had received to a request for possible subjects, saying that “in a recent poll on who would make a better prime minister, ‘don’t know’ scored higher than Jeremy Corbyn”.

May added: “What we do know is that whoever wins the Labour party leadership, we’re not going to let them anywhere near power again.”

It later emerged that the Twitter user she was quoting – Lewis Collins – had made a series of unpleasant remarks on Twitter, including apparently racist comments about recent attacks on Polish people in Essex.

A spokesman for Corbyn’s leadership campaign said: “Jeremy was raising a very serious question about the housing crisis and Theresa May chose to respond with a pre-written joke quoting someone who has used racist language on Twitter. If this is the level of research she does for PMQs, it’s no wonder the Tories had no plan for Brexit.”

Following another question, May made reference to Corbyn’s much-publicised disagreement with Virgin Trains over whether or not a service he took to Newcastle was full.

“Everything he says just tells us all we need to know about modern Labour,” May said. “The train has left the station, the seats are all empty, the leader’s on the floor. Even on rolling stock they’re a laughing stock.”