Britain to send 'hundreds' of civil servants to Brussels to hammer out a trade deal by October after Davis wins Whitehall battle with officials

Sam Lowe, from the Centre for European Reform, said Mr Davis's plan may well fail. 'The fact David Davis thinks we can substantively negotiate on the future relationship is slightly odd, as the EU vision and UK's still seem a long way apart,' he told The Times.

'The commission isn't able to substantively negotiate the future relationship until it receives a mandate from the council. Olly Robbins is almost certainly right that Brussels wouldn't engage with hundreds of British officials turning up in weeks.'