Each side of Tory Brexit divide prepares to deliver major speeches

A SERIES of major speeches will set out Theresa May’s Brexit vision over the coming weeks as she attempts a public relations blitz ahead of fresh negotiations with Brussels.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said the Prime Minister would put “some meat on the bones” and lay out what she wants from the process.

It comes as Tory divisions over leaving the European Union once again broke into the open, with Remainer Anna Soubry delivering a warning to the top ranks.

Asked if she believed there is a majority in the House of Commons to defeat “the kind of Brexit the Prime Minister wants”, she told the BBC: “If she’s not careful, yes.”

Ms Soubry said she “genuinely” didn’t know whether Brexit would happen, and admitted she was closer in her politics to some Labour figures than she was to leading Tories such as Jacob Rees-mogg.

She insisted she believed a transition period was “a given” despite claims to the contrary by EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier.

She said: “What I would say to the public is that, actually, the other nations involved in this are very pragmatic and have not been impressed with some of the language that the [European] Commission has used.”

Mrs May is set to make two major addresses in the coming weeks, and arch Brexiters Boris Johnson, David Davis and Liam Fox will also set out their agendas.

However, Chancellor Philip Hammond is not slated to take part in what Downing Street sources dubbed a drive to set out Britain’s road map to Brexit.

The wave of speeches is being seen as an attempt to try to set the tone in the run-up to another round of tough negotiations with Brussels over a transition deal.

In the first of the speeches on Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Mr Johnson will call for national unity over withdrawal. This will be followed on Saturday by Mrs May detailing the “security partnership” the UK wants to maintain with the EU.

Brexit Secretary Mr Davis and International Trade Secretary Dr Fox will also set out their agendas, along with Mrs May’s deputy, David Lidington, who backed Remain in the referendum.

The other nations involved in this are very pragmatic