Theresa May happy for differing views on Brexit, will get best deal – spokeswoman

Media reports say there are sharp disagreements between some of her Cabinet, with the Telegraph newspaper saying there were claims that finance minister Philip Hammond could resign over his support for a ‘soft Brexit’ of retaining ties with the bloc.

"The prime minister is focused on making sure we prepare for the negotiations and we get the best deal for the United Kingdom," her spokeswoman told reporters.

"The PM wants to prepare fully for those negotiations. It means hearing the differing views of ministers, departments, stakeholders ... ultimately we need to make sure we are working together to ensure that we make a success of Brexit."

She added that May had full confidence in Hammond.

Asked whether Hammond was close to resigning and whether he was obstructing the Brexit process, a source in his department said the reports were ‘completely untrue’. 

Britain cannot reverse the decision to leave the European Union once the formal divorce process has begun with the triggering of Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, Attorney General Jeremy Wright told the High Court today.

"We do not argue that an Article 50 notice can be revoked and we would like the court to proceed on the basis a notification is irrevocable," said Wright, the government's top lawyer.

Asked from the bench if that meant there was no such thing as giving conditional notice, Wright said: "We accept that."