Gove would not block May handing more cash to EU for a good exit deal

Leading Brexiteer Michael Gove has said he will not block Theresa May if she decides to hand over extra cash to Brussels to secure a good exit deal.

The Prime Minister and Brexit Secretary David Davis should be “given the flexibility” to secure a good deal, the Environment Secretary said.

In a secret letter leaked to the Mail on Sunday, he wrote to the prime minister with Boris Johnson saying they were worried that some areas of the government were not preparing for Brexit “with anything like sufficient energy”.

Mr Gove said he had a duty to ensure his department was “ready for every eventuality” in the talks over Britain’s exit.

He told the BBC’S The Andrew Marr Show the government is “doing everything we can” to secure a good deal 0 David Davis: ‘should be given flexibility for a deal’ but is making sure that whatever happens in the talks, Britain can ‘make the best of them’.

“Iamnotworriedbutiam determined to ensure that in my own department we have everything in place for every eventuality.”

Asked if he would block the Prime Minister if she had to hand over extra cash to secure a deal, he replied: “I certainly would not. I would not block the Prime Minister in doing what she believed was right.”

Brexit Secretary David Davis said it would be “very expensive” for the UK if it sought to extend the negotiations by 12 months. Asked why the UK would not consider pausing the Article 50 process to extend the time available, Mr Davis also said it would create extra uncertainty for businesses.

He said: “In order to pause it, well, not pause it, in order to extend it by a year, let alone pause it – I’m not sure you can pause it – even to extend it by a year takes unanimity of all the other 27. What do you think the price of that will be? When you require unanimity from 27 countries, I can tell you it’d be very expensive.”

Mr Davis dismissed the suggestion that a no deal scenario is “more probable than it’s ever been before”.