‘flexibility’ as negotiations resume

during this period, and suggested the party was ready to negotiate a new tailor-made membership of the Single Market and Customs Union if a way can be found to allow Britain to impose effective management of migration.

As he opens discussions on Monday, Mr Davis is expected to say he wants to agree a deal which is in the best interests of both sides, and expects the four days of talks to be “constructive”.

“For the UK, the week ahead is about driving forward the technical discussions across all the issues,” the Brexit Secretary is expected to say.

“We want to lock in the points where we agree, unpick the areas where we disagree and make further progress on a range of issues.

“But in order to do that, we’ll require flexibility and imagination from both sides.”

He will add: “Our goal remains the same. We want to agree a deal that works in the best interests of both the EU and the UK, and people and businesses right across Europe. And we’re ready to roll up our sleeves and get down to work once more.”

Mr Davis will tell Mr Barnier that the papers setting out Britain’s positions on a number of withdrawal issues and its vision for a “deep and special” future for the UK-EU relationship amount to proof of “the hard work and detailed thinking that has been going on behind the scenes” on the UK side since the last talks in July.

Some in London were enraged by Mr Barnier’s apparently dismissive response to the documents, when he tweeted that he was “looking forward” to discussing them but that the “essential” issues remained the questions of expats’ rights, the financial settlement and the Irish border, which he has always said should take up the first phase of negotiations.