Senior ministers told their Labour counterparts yesterday that Theresa May’s Brexit deal with the European Union already includes a customs union “in all but name”.

In a disclosure that will infuriate Tory backbenchers, a team of ministers led by Mrs May’s deputy, David Lidington, attempted to persuade Labour to back the deal because the small print already contains many of their demands.

The claim was made during four and a half hours of talks yesterday between senior Tory and Labour ministers in an attempt to thrash out a joint approach to Brexit that could command a majority in the House of Commons.

Publicly both sides described the meeting as “constructive” and said that further talks were likely today.

In private there was greater pessimism. One