Brexit: Theresa May says she ”will not be derailed”

The prime minister has said the government is “proving the doubters wrong” with its Brexit negotiations.

EU leaders agreed talks can move on to the next stage in the new year, shortly after Theresa May suffered her first Commons defeat on Brexit.

Writing in two Sunday papers, she vowed she would “not be derailed” from securing an “ambitious” deal.

Labour’s Diane Abbott told the BBC the Brexit negotiations were “a mess” and were causing concern.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph and Sunday Express, Mrs May said the last 10 days had “marked a watershed” in the Brexit process and that the government would now “begin to build that new, deep and special partnership” with the EU. “This is the exciting part of the negotiations and there is no limit on our ambition and creativity,” she said.

She said talks would now start on the implementation period for Brexit and the future of trading relationships.

“Amid all the noise, we are getting on with the job,” she added.