Brexit talks kick off today in Brussels

COLLEAGUES WARM TO TRANSITIONAL DEAL, BRITISH FINANCE MINISTER SAYS

Senior members of the government are becoming convinced of the need for a phased British departure from the European Union to help protect the economy, Finance Minister Philip Hammond said yesterday.

Brexit Minister David Davis heads to Brussels today for a first full round of talks, with EU officials hoping the British government, yet to set out detailed proposals on several major issues, begins to show more urgency about doing a deal before Britain leaves the bloc in 2019.

Hammond, who supported remaining in the EU at referendum, is seen as the voice of a so-called ‘soft Brexit’ within Prime Minister Theresa May’s cabinet, favouring prioritising trade ties with the EU over curbing immigration. With May weakened by a failed election gamble last month which saw her Conservatives lose their parliamentary majority, Britain’s weekend papers were full of stories of infighting as cabinet colleagues reportedly vie for her job.

Hammond has repeatedly talked about the need for a transitional deal, saying such an arrangement would see

Britain replicate as much as possible the existing arrangements in order to minimise the impact on business. He said the majority of his colleagues now recognised this was “the right and sensible way to go”.

“Five weeks ago the idea of a transition period was quite a new concept, I think now you would find that pretty much everybody around the cabinet table accepts that there will be some kind of transition,” Hammond told BBC TV.

“I think you’ll find the cabinet rallying around a position that maximises our negotiating leverage and gets the best possible deal for Britain.” Trade minister Liam Fox, who favours making a cleaner break with the bloc, said he did not have a problem with a transition period as long as it was for a limited duration and gave UK the freedom to negotiate its own trade deals.

Gibraltar will not be a victim of Brexit and has had guarantees from the British government it will not do a trade deal with the European Union which doesn’t include the territory, its chief minister said yesterday.

The future of Gibraltar, a rocky enclave on the southern tip of Spain captured by Britain in 1704, and its 30,000 inhabitants is set to be a major point of contention in Brexit negotiations.

The EU annoyed Britain and Gibraltar in April by offering Spain a right of veto over the territory’s postBrexit relationship with the bloc.

Gibraltar, which Spain wants back, voted strongly in favour of remaining in the EU at last year’s referendum but is committed to staying part of Britain.

Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian Picardo told Sky News he had “cast iron assurances” from Britain’s Brexit minister David Davis that the government would not do a trade deal with the EU if it did not include Gibraltar.

“I’m the backbone of this negotiation for Gibraltar and the backbone is made of limestone rock, it’s not going to be easy to buckle on that. Gibraltar is not going to change its position,” he said.