“We want to have a bespoke agreement. Now we’re not going to surrender before we have that battle,” Home secretary Amber Rudd said to the BBC when asked whether ministers were pursuing what the EU has already ruled out as “having its cake and eating it” – demanding tariff-free access to the EU’s market while controlling immigration.

Amber Rudd is one of several senior Conservative lawmakers supporting Prime Minister Theresa May, under pressure from Brexit hardliners who fear she is diluting the plans for a clean break with the EU.

With reports in the local media suggesting that pro-Brexit ministers are being urged to get ready to replace May, Rudd tried to reduce the deep divisions in government, saying there was more unity than so-called Brexiteers thought.