UK data falters amid single-market warning

Britain will not be able to buy access to the single market following its exit from the EU, a former top UK official at the European Commission has warned, casting doubt on mooted British government plans for the UK’s future relationship with the bloc.

British prime minister Theresa May intends to launch the two-year process of negotiations to leave the EU by the end of March and some members of her government have suggested this could include paying to maintain access to the single market.

However, Jonathan Faull, who worked in the commission for 38 years until retiring in 2016, said paying to access the tariff-free zone was not how the EU worked.