Ministers have held talks about commissioning a new Royal Yacht Britannia which will be a “showcase for everything that is best in Britain”, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

Jake Berry, the Northern Powerhouse minister, disclosed that he discussed the plans for a new "Brexit-annia" with Liam Fox, the International Trade secretary, this week.

Mr Berry also said that business leaders in the north of England were sick of "London-centric, whinging" about Brexit and urged critics to get behind the Government.

HMY Britannia - which is now a visitor attraction in Edinburgh - was controversially decommissioned by Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1997.

A secret naval design for a replacement for Britannia was drawn up by naval staff and approved by representatives of the royal family but the Labour Government refused to pay for it.

The new replacement - estimated to cost £100million to build and £10million a year to run - would be a way for Britain to project “the soft power of our nation around the world”, Mr Berry said.

The Daily Telegraph has been campaigning for a new Britannia to help win deals for Britain after Britain leaves the European Union. Scores of Tory MPs, including Mr Berry, backed the campaign.