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Dominic Raab slams David Davis’ Brexit plan as a ‘shortcut to no deal’

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Brexit secretary Dominic Raab has dubbed his predecessor's negotiating strategy "a shortcut to no deal" as the Tory war of words over Europe escalated.

Raab made the comments after former Brexit secretary David Davis sent a letter to every Tory MP urging them to back a Canada-style free trade agreement with the EU, or face defeat at the next General Election.

Davis claims the EU is "ready to make that deal" after European Council president Donald Tusk repeated his offer of "Canada+++" for the UK last week.

Read more: Tories will lose next election unless May chucks Chequers, Davis tells MPs

Speaking in the Commons hours after the letter had been sent, Raab hit back at the claim, telling former Brexit minister Steve Baker: "Whilst it may be theoretically possible for us to do that we can not do it and have a deal with the EU.

"The EU are not offering us Canada, Super Canada, or an FTA, without keeping to the commitment we made when he was in Government in December to come up with a legally binding backstop, so that's a shortcut to no deal.

"We always said we'd be ready if that outcome is forced on us but the optimum objective we are working towards is a good deal with the EU."

The EU's Irish backstop provision – which would came into play if a trade agreement wasn't finalised by the end of a 21-month transition period – would see Northern Ireland stay in the Single Market and customs union in order to avoid a hard border with the Republic of Ireland.

May has ruled this out, and offered an alternative of the whole UK staying in the customs union but not Single Market – a position which the EU is against.

Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg – chair of the eurosceptic European Research Group – was bullish as he dismissed Raab's analysis of the Canada deal being a non-starter.

"Canada is just as much on the table as Chequers is as the EU has ruled out Chequers. It's a negotiation," he said, adding: "This is back to cake-and-eat-it territory, this time it's the EU's cake."