Britain's Secretary of State for Leave the EU David Davis leaves number 10 Downing Street after a cabinet meeting in London, November 29, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will begin formal divorce talks with the European Union earlier than the end of March if it can, Brexit minister David Davis said on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will trigger Article 50 of the EU’s Libson Treaty to begin negotiations by the end of March 2017, but not before the end of this year.

“We’re aiming to trigger by March 31, earlier if we can,” Davis told a committee of lawmakers.

Davis also said the government was still to decide how much detail to include in its letter to trigger Article 50.