May losing support for no-deal Brexit if EU rejects Chequers plan - report
(Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May is losing cabinet support for her plan to revert to a ‘no-deal’ Brexit if Europe rejects the Chequers proposals, The Times newspaper reported, citing sources.
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives to address the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
Cabinet ministers including Brexit secretary Dominic Raab, foreign minister Jeremy Hunt, environment secretary Michael Gove and interior minister Sajid Javid are looking to prevent May from locking Britain into a no-deal Brexit, the report said.
The opposing ministers want May to consider a Canada-style free trade deal if the European Union rejects May’s proposals again at a summit on Oct. 18, giving her a Plan B to avoid the deal, the Times said.
The concerns arose after May said she would prefer a ‘no-deal’ Brexit to the offer currently put forward by the European Union, stressing that Britain needs to see counter-proposals from the EU to move Brexit negotiations forward.
Reporting by Mekhla Raina in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Brown
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