FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond leaves 11 Downing Street in London, Britain, July 2, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - British finance minister Philip Hammond will set out the timing for his next budget in “the usual way”, a spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday after a newspaper reported that his fiscal statement would come early.

The Times reported that Hammond was preparing to unveil his budget as early as next month to avoid a clash with the final stages of Britain’s talks to leave the European Union. The budget had previously been planned for late November, it said.

“I’m not commenting on when the budget is going to be but we are working on it already,” Britain’s deputy finance minister Liz Truss told BBC TV when asked about the Times report.

“Of course, the Brexit negotiations are the big priority for the autumn.”