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PM to wine, dine and arm-twist warring Brexit cabinet at Chequers away-day

Theresa May will lay on the best hospitality her country retreat Chequers can offer in a bid to persuade her feuding Cabinet ministers to agree a policy on Brexit.

At an away-day of 11 senior ministers – her so-called Brexit “war Cabinet” – she will attempt to reach a compromise between the Cabinet’s hardline Brexiteers and Remainers.

Talks scheduled to last up to eight hours will begin with an afternoon meeting, followed by drinks and then dinner, as the Prime Minister battles to reach an agreement between her ministers.

It has even been suggested that if the ministers on the Cabinet’s Brexit sub-committee fail to reach an agreement the PM will keep them at Chequers overnight and as long as necessary until a deal is done.

Video: Barnier tells Britain: ‘The time has come to make a choice’

Leading demands for a so-called “hard Brexit” will be the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, while Remainers led by the Chancellor Philip Hammond and Home Secretary Amber Rudd want a so-called “soft Brexit.

The battle lines for the Cabinet showdown are:

:: Whether the UK should remain in the EU’s Customs Union or some form of customs union

:: The length of a Brexit transition period and whether some EU rules should still apply to the UK during that period

:: The rights of EU citizens living in the UK and British ex-pats living in Europe after Brexit

:: Whether the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic should be a “soft” or “hard” border with security and customs checks

Image: Chequers is the Prime Minister’s official country residence

Chequers, a 16th-century mansion set in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, boasts a celebrated wine cellar and is renowned for the lavish entertaining of world leaders, royalty and celebrities.

The Cabinet away-day at Chequers comes half way through a series of six major speeches by ministers – including two by the PM – billed “the road to Brexit” by Downing Street.

After speeches by Mr Johnson, the PM and Brexit Secretary David Davis, the Cabinet Secretary David Lidington and the Trade Secretary Liam Fox will make theirs before a final concluding speech by Mrs May.

Video: Business ‘frustrated’ by Brexit debate

The Cabinet sub-committee summoned to Chequers comes after a number of meetings in Downing Street at which ministers failed to agree, including two marathon meetings on consecutive days earlier this month.

The away-day also comes amid signs of growing impatience with Mrs May and her government among leaders of the other 27 EU countries about what kind of Brexit the UK wants after it leaves the European Union.

On the eve of the Cabinet away-day, after talks with Mrs May in 10 Downing Street the Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte warned the “clock is ticking” and called for swift action.

“In view of our close economic ties, it is clearly crucial for the Netherlands and Dutch business to ensure a strong relationship post-Brexit,” he said.

“So the British government really needs to offer more clarity about where it wants to go. The clock is ticking, and we need to move fast.”

Video: Davis: No ‘Mad Max-style’ free-for-all post-Brexit

Last Friday, asked after talks with Mrs May in Berlin if she was frustrated by the UK’s lack of clarity on Brexit, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: ” I am not frustrated. I am curious how Great Britain imagines our relationship to be.”

But the Prime Minister is facing strong political pressure from Brexit hardliners inside the Conservative Party as well, leading to claims by Opposition MPs that she is too weak to stand up to them.

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