Theresa May will not insist on 'end date' for UK staying in EU customs territory, cabinet minister admits

Theresa May will not insist on an “end date” for the UK staying in the EU customs territory, a cabinet minister has admitted – raising the risk of resignations within days.

Instead, looser “conditions” could be set to try to convince pro-Brexit Tories that the country will not be locked into a union for many years to come, Matt Hancock said.

The health secretary also insisted he saw “absolutely no reason” why Tuesday’s crunch cabinet meeting would spark walkouts over the plan – but admitted he could not rule that out.

Up to nine cabinet ministers are believed to oppose the prime minister’s “backstop” proposals, to avoid a hard border in Ireland, unless they include a set date for the UK’s escape.

Without that legal guarantee, it would leave the EU to decide whether as-yet-unproven technology has produced an alternative solution – and the UK unable to sign its own trade deals indefinitely, they fear.

Asked whether there would be an end date, Mr Hancock said only: “The proposal is that it will be temporary and time-limited.”

Pressed a second time, on the BBCs Andrew Marr Show, he replied: “There are different ways to ensure that something is time-limited. For instance, you can set conditions under which – at the point at which – the arrangements come to an end.”

He added: “There are different ways that you can make sure that something is credibly time-limited.”

The government is believed to be pushing for a “review clause” that could bring an end to the backstop, but its legal strength is unclear and the EU could reject the idea outright.

Negotiations are continuing in Brussels in the hope of reaching a deal that Ms May can take to the cabinet on Tuesday – and to EU leaders in Brussels the following day.

The Independent revealed on Friday that Andrea Leadsom, the Commons leader, is prepared to resign if Ms May compromises further.

Esther McVey, the work and pensions secretary, Penny Mordaunt, the international development secretary, and Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, are also on “resignation watch”.

Also on Friday, Dominic Raab, the Brexit secretary, insisted the “backstop” – the key hurdle to a withdrawal agreement – must have an end date or it would be rejected by parliament.

Earlier, former Brexit secretary David Davis said the plan was “completely unacceptable” and urged cabinet ministers to rise up to “exert their collective authority”.

Labour MPs have told The Independent that up to 15 of their colleagues are prepared to defy Jeremy Corbyn and vote for the prime minister’s deal, if it is reasonable.

But Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, condemned the idea of a “ridiculous binary choice” between Ms May’s agreement and crashing out of the EU.

“I think it’s false,” she told the same programme, insisting a “blind Brexit” – with no details of future trading rules – would be unacceptable.

“If she comes back with something that’s just a fudge she’s cooked up with Brussels, we are not going to vote for it. We’re not voting for something that’s essentially a bridge to nowhere.”