Some clues as to what David Davis means by Brexit

David Davis has just finished his first statement to the Commons on the process for the UK exiting the European Union. Davis’s initial statement stuck closely to what the government has said already; the coordinated Labour backbench heckle of ‘waffle, waffle’ had some truth to it. But it was striking that Davis said he hoped the UK’s security relationship with the EU would be as close or closer post-Brexit; in Whitehall, Britain’s intelligence and military capabilities are regarded as one of our key assets in the negotiation.

But in answer to the questions that followed, Davis–a naturally frank politician—gave a clearer sense of what he means by Brexit. In answer to his protégé Dominic Raab, Davis indicated that he didn’t favour paying anything or conceding anything on border controls to get a free trade deal with the EU. When Andrew Tyrie, the chairman of the Treasury select committee, pressed him on whether the UK would remain inside the customs union once it left the EU, Davis said the government hadn’t yet decided whether to do this.