Theresa May tells ministers UK must make success of Brexit

Theresa May has said the UK must focus on the "opportunities" on offer outside the EU as she reiterated there would be no second referendum on Brexit. 


The prime minister is meeting cabinet colleagues at Chequers to discuss developments since June's Leave vote. 


She told them that the UK would not stay in the EU "by the back door" and she was committed to making a success of Britain's "new role" in the world. 


Mrs May has said talks with the rest of the EU will not begin this year. 


The meeting at the PM's country residence is being billed as the most significant since the referendum vote in June and comes amid reports of tensions and diverging priorities among key figures in the Cabinet charged with implementing the UK's exit. 


BBC political correspondent Tom Bateman said Mrs May had asked every Cabinet minister before the summer break to identify what were described as the "opportunities" for their departments and they will now be expected to report back. 


In comments made at the start of the meeting while cameras were allowed in, Mrs May told ministers that the government was clear that "Brexit means Brexit". 


"We will be looking at the next steps that we need to take and we will also be looking at the opportunities that are now open to us as we forge a new role for the UK in the world," she said

Source: NNA