So what is the new vision?

THERESA May has published what the UK government is calling “the temporary customs arrangement” in its latest version of the plan for Brexit.

It is supposed to ensure no return to a hard Border involving customs controls between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

Instead it would see Britain staying tied to the EU’s customs union after an almost two-year transition period, possibly for a year, if there was any delay in implementing a Brexit deal.

The government said in the proposal that it “expects” to get a withdrawal agreement by the end of December 2021.

“The UK is clear that the temporary customs arrangement, should it be needed, should be time limited,” the document, which was also sent to Brussels, said.

“The UK expects the future arrangement to be in place by the end of December 2021 at the latest.

“There are a range of options for how a time limit could be delivered, which the UK will propose and discuss with the EU.”

This was not the government’s preferred option, the document said, but if it was triggered, Britain should have the right to negotiate, sign and ratify trade deals with other parts of the world and it should apply to the whole of the United Kingdom.

Britain hopes that this wording might win approval from officials in Brussels.

The EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier welcomed the publication but said the “backstop” plan must not damage the EU’s single market and customs union.

At the heart of the problem is ensuring there is no hard Border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, which both Britain and the EU have committed to.

Some politicians say any return of Border controls could disrupt a peace agreement to reduce sectarian conflict in the North.