After six months in Downing Street, Theresa May has finally provided some clarity of what Brexit really does mean. Her negotiating cards are still close to her chest, but we now know what is written on a few of them.

However, her much-anticipated speech at Lancaster House showed that she is still sticking to Boris Johnson’s mantra and trying to have her cake and eat it. The UK will leave the single market, but wants a comprehensive free trade deal, without paying much into the EU budget or coming under the European Court of Justice. She wants a tariff-free customs agreement that leaves the UK free to strike trade deals with the rest of the EU.

In an attempt to get the negotiation off to a good start, there were plenty of warm words for the 27 EU nations; May said the UK wanted the EU and its member states to succeed and prosper, promising to use our intelligence and defence expertise to protect them. But there was a nasty sting in the tail. May gave the hard-line Brexiteers what they have been desperate to hear by threatening to walk away from the talks if Britain was heading for a bad deal.

Brexit Concerns Show all 26 1 /26 Brexit Concerns Brexit Concerns Brexit will put British patients at 'back of the queue' for new drugs Brexit will put British patients at the “back of the queue” for vital new drugs, the Government has been warned – forcing them to wait up to two years longer A medicines regulator has raised the alarm over a likely decision to pull out of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as well as the EU itself. ealth Secretary Jeremy Hunt dropped the bombshell , when he said he expected the UK would quit the EMA – because it is subject to rulings by the European Court of Justice. Getty Images Brexit Concerns London to lose status as 'gateway to Europe' for banks One of Germany’s top banking regulators has warned that London could lose its status as “gateway to Europe” for the banking sector after Britain quits the European trading bloc. Andreas Dombret, who is an executive board member for the Bundesbank—Germany’s central bank—told a private meeting of German businesses and banks earlier this week in Frankfurt that even if banking rules were “equivalent” between the UK and the rest of the EU, that was still “miles away from [Britain having] access to the single market”, the BBC reports. Jason Hawkes Brexit Concerns Exodus The number of financial sector professionals in Britain and continental Europe looking for jobs in Ireland rocketed in the months after the UK voted to leave the European Union Shutterstock Brexit Concerns Brexit is making FTSE 100 executives richer Pay packages of many FTSE 100 chief executive officers are partly tied to how well share prices are doing rather than the CEO’s performance -- and some stocks are soaring. ritish equities got a boost since the June vote because the likes of Rio Tinto, Smiths Group and WPP generate most sales abroad and earn a fortune when they convert these revenues back into the weakened pound. Sterling’s fall also made UK stocks more affordable for overseas investors. Rex Brexit Concerns Theresa May: UK to leave single market Theresa May has said the UK "cannot possibly" remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean "not leaving the EU at all". Getty Brexit Concerns Lead campaigner Gina Miller and her team outside the High Court Getty Brexit Concerns Raymond McCord holds up his newly issued Irish passport alongside his British passport outside the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns SDLP leader Colum Eastwood leaving the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns Migrants with luggage walk past a graffiti on a wall as they leave the 'Jungle' migrant camp, as part of a major three-day operation planned to clear the camp in Calais Getty Brexit Concerns Migrants leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp Getty Brexit Concerns The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra) which distributes approximately 700 meals daily in the northern Paris camp states that it is noticing a spike in new migrant arrivals this week, potentially linked the the Calais 'jungle' camp closure - with around 1000 meals distributed today EPA Brexit Concerns Migrant workers pick apples at Stocks Farm in Suckley, Britain Reuters Brexit Concerns Many farmers across the country are voicing concerns that Brexit could be a dangerous step into the unknown for the farming industry Getty Brexit Concerns Bank of England governor Mark Carney who said the long-term outlook for the UK economy is positive, but growth was slowing in the wake of the Brexit vote PA Brexit Concerns The Dow Jones industrial average closed down over 600 points on the news with markets around the globe pluninging Getty Brexit Concerns Immigration officers deal with each member of the public seeking entry into the United Kingdom but on average, 10 a day are refused entry at this London airport and between 2008 and 2009, 33,100 people were detained at the airport for mainly passport irregularities Getty Brexit Concerns A number of global investment giants have threatened to move their European operations out of London if Brexit proves to have a negative impact on their businesses Getty Brexit Concerns Following the possibility of a Brexit the UK would be released from its renewable energy targets under the EU Renewable Energy Directive and from EU state aid restrictions, potentially giving the government more freedom both in the design and phasing out of renewable energy support regimes Getty Brexit Concerns A woman looking at a chart showing the drop in the pound (Sterling) against the US Dollar in London after Britain voted to leave the EU Getty Brexit Concerns Young protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, to protest against the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU following the referendum Getty Brexit Concerns Applications from Northern Ireland citizens for Irish Passports has soared to a record high after the UK Voted in favour of Leaving the EU Getty Brexit Concerns NFU Vice President Minette Batters with Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsome at the National Farmers Union (NFU) took machinery, produce, farmers and staff to Westminster to encourage Members of Parliament to back British farming, post Brexit Getty Brexit Concerns The latest reports released by the UK Cabinet Office warn that expats would lose a range of specific rights to live, to work and to access pensions, healthcare and public services. The same reports added that UK citizens abroad would not be able to assume that these rights will be guaranteed in the future Getty Brexit Concerns A British resident living in Spain asks questions during an informative Brexit talk by the "Brexpats in Spain" group, about Spanish legal issues to become Spanish citizens, at the town hall in Benalmadena, Spain Reuters Brexit Concerns The collapse of Great Britain appears to have been greatly exaggerated given the late summer crowds visiting city museums, hotels, and other important tourist attractions Getty Brexit Concerns The U.K. should maintain European Union regulations covering everything from working hours to chemicals until after the government sets out its plans for Brexit, said British manufacturers anxious to avoid a policy vacuum and safeguard access to their biggest export market Getty

The alternative “no deal” she mentioned would be the default position of the tariff-based regime of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), with a potentially damaging effect on UK business. If EU leaders punished Britain with a bad deal, she warned, the UK would retaliate by changing its economic model – a threat to undercut the 27 by reducing business taxes and becoming a Singapore on the EU’s edge. Her tough language undermined her attempt to reach out to the EU. She didn’t need to issue the threat now; Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, made the point on Sunday. It sounded more like Donald Trump than the close European partner committed to free trade who May claimed to be.

Although Downing Street billed the speech as the “plan for Brexit”, it was only a partial one. If it were fleshed out in the White Paper that many MPs in all parties want, there would be a lot of blank pages.

May admitted she had an “open mind” on how a new customs agreement would work. That reflects unresolved tensions in the Cabinet, with Hammond keen to keep something close to the present customs union but Liam Fox, the International Trade Secretary, anxious to limit its scope to make it easier to win deals with non-EU countries.

The biggest omission was on immigration. We already knew it was May’s number one “red line”, but there was no detail about how the UK will regain control of EU migration. She dodged questions about whether EU citizens would have preferential access to the UK or be treated in the same way as people from other nations. There are huge unresolved questions about work permits, quotas and caps, especially for low-skilled EU migrants.

Theresa May warns EU over 'punitive' Brexit deal

Nor was there any clue about how a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland can be avoided, as May wants, or how the tensions over Brexit between UK ministers and the Scottish Government can be resolved – only warm words about consultation.

The hole at the heart of the speech was about Parliament’s scrutiny of the Brexit process. May talked up her announcement that the Commons and Lords would have a vote on the exit deal. But this was no concession; how could the Government deny the UK Parliament a vote when the European Parliament will have one?

May’s pledge was much less significant than it sounded. Answering questions, she pointedly refused to say whether Britain would remain in the EU if Parliament voted against the deal. No doubt ministers will argue that triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to kick start negotiations is “irreversible”, and so there will be no way back to EU membership. But that is not how EU diplomats and legal experts see it, and there would probably be political will among the 27 leaders to keep their awkward partner in the club.

May’s reluctance to speculate about what would happen if MPs and peers reject her deal unmasks her real strategy: to present them with a “take it or leave it” offer so they endorse her agreement, however bad it is for Britain, because the only alternative would be a leap into the dark of WTO tariffs.