Theresa May has been told she could be ousted like Margaret Thatcher unless she sacks her chief Brexit negotiator, Oliver Robbins, and ditches his plan to bind Britain into a customs partnership with the EU. David Davis, the Brexit secretary, has told May that she should ignore Robbins and start listening to her ministers instead — a move that the mandarin has interpreted as an attempt to get him fired. Davis also staged a showdown with May’s chief of staff, Gavin Barwell, last weekend, after The Sunday Times revealed that her aides had “war-gamed” whether he would resign if the UK stayed in a customs union with Brussels. Pro-Brexit business leaders have demanded Oliver Robbins be sacked Aidan Taylor/Open Government LicenceIn what amounts to the most perilous moment for May’s premiership this year, a close friend of…

Source: The Times April 28, 2018 23:03 UTC