Theresa May is visiting Japan, where she wants to retain the benefits of a new trade agreement with the EU Getty Images

Britain wants to ‘piggyback’ on EU trade deals after Brexit to give businesses certainty, Theresa May has said.

Mrs May is pressing Japan to allow the UK to retain the benefits of a new trade agreement with the EU after it leaves the bloc during a three-day visit to the country. Unless the prime minister is succesful, Britain faces missing out on a £3.6 billion trade boost.

Speaking to reporters on her way there the prime minister said that adopting existing EU agreements wholesale would apply for other countries for an initial period.

Establishing that principle has become a key objective as Mrs May seeks to avoid Brexit cliff-edges.

“We think it is an important deal for the EU and, yes, when we leave the…