Brexit talks may not start on June 19, Davis suggests

David Davis has signalled discussions on the UK’s exit from the European Union may not start on June 19 as anticipated.

The Brexit secretary said the talks would take place that week but not necessarily on the Monday.

The European Commission insisted it was “fully prepared and ready for negotiations to start” – indicating any delay was on the British side.

In a hint at a changed approach, Mr Davis said “we will start down this process” by focusing on the divorce proceedings from the EU before moving on to trade.

Brussels has insisted talks on the so-called divorce, taking in issues including the fee the UK will have to pay to sever its ties, must make sufficient progress before any discussion on a future trade agreement could begin.

The UK Government wants the talks to take place in parallel during the Brexit process.

Theresa May had repeatedly said during the election campaign that the Brexit talks would start 11 days after the June 8 vote, using it as a warning that Labour was not ready for the negotiations.

Mr Davis indicated there could be a slight delay before he enters the negotiating chamber, in part because of the Queen’s Speech, which was also due to take place on June 19.

He told Sky News: “The first bit of it – Brussels want to do the so-called divorce proceedings first – that includes European citizens in the UK.

“It includes money – they want to talk about that, we think it should come later – and Northern Ireland.

“The European citizens in the UK, we want to get on with as fast as possible because we don’t want people to be in a state of anxiety.”

Dismissing the prospect of a unilateral decision to guarantee the rights of EU citizens in the UK, he stressed he had “got to worry about the million or so Brits abroad”.

David Davis.