Brexit: ‘UK will not be staying in the customs union’

Downing Street sources insist PM ‘will not backtrack’

Just a week after facing defeat on the EU Withdrawal Bill in the House of Lords, Theresa May is reportedly facing new conflict over Brexit ahead of a Commons debate on the customs union.

Downing Street sources, however, insist that the PM will remain committed to leaving the customs union. “We will not be staying in the customs union or joining a customs union,” a senior Downing Street told BBC.

The trade and customs bill will be debated by MPs on Thursday with a vote that, while not binding, will be seen as an important indicator of the parliamentary mood.

Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt also said that PM’s position on the customs union had been consistent.

“These votes are always going to be challenging for the Government when you have a hung parliament,” he said, adding: “But the Prime Minister has been totally clear right from the outset. We’re not going to be part of the customs union or a customs union. We are not going to be part of the customs union or a customs union because she thinks if we did that we would not be delivering the Brexit that the British people voted for.”