The government expects a Brexit backstop solution to the Irish border issue to end before 2022, after Theresa May acted to ease the concerns of her Leave-supporting ministers.
The prime minister appeared to have avoided a full-blown Brexit crisis and an explosive cabinet resignation after a constructive discussion with David Davis on Thursday morning.
It followed speculation her Brexit secretary was ready to quit the government over the details of the backstop proposal.
Mrs May also held separate face-to-face meetings in her parliamentary office with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox.
The government later published its proposal for a backstop plan to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, with an ambition for it to end by the time of the next general election.
This will see the UK retain parts of the EU’s customs union in the event of a wider UK-EU agreement finding no solution to the issue; but Brexiteers had become concerned as to whether the proposal would truly be time-limited, as promised.
The Cabinet Office document states: The UK is clear that the temporary customs arrangement, should it be needed, should be time limited, and that it will be only in place until the future customs arrangement can be introduced.
The UK is clear that the future customs arrangement needs to deliver on the commitments made in relation to Northern Ireland.
There are a range of options for how a time limit could be delivered, which the UK will propose and discuss with the EU.
Another paragraph clearly states the temporary customs arrangement will be time-limited and will come into force after the Brexit transition period ends in December 2020.
The document also states the UK will be able to negotiate, sign and ratify free trade agreements with non-EU countries while the backstop is in place.
And the paper adds a temporary arrangement could only be provided in law if an EU-UK divorce deal and a future partnership framework are agreed.
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier welcomed the publication of the UK proposal but said Brussels would examine it with three questions.
These were whether it is a “workable solution” to avoiding a hard border; whether it respects the “integrity” of the EU’s single market and customs union”; and whether it is an “all-weather backstop”.
Video: U.K’s Hain Urges Staying in EU Customs Union (Provided by Bloomberg)
The Republic of Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney said he looked forward to discussing the UK’s proposal with Mr Barnier’s team.
Claiming there is clearly a great deal of work remaining to be done in Brexit negotiations, Mr Coveney said: “Our strong preference remains an overall EU-UK future relationship which would resolve all issues.
However, it remains vital that a legally-binding backstop is agreed to provide certainty that, in all circumstances, a hard border will be avoided.
In a morning of speculation at Westminster, Mr Davis’s chances of resigning – and delivering a damaging departure from Mrs May’s cabinet had earlier been judged at 50-50 by a source close to the Brexit secretary.
Tory MP Nadine Dorries had also ramped up the political drama by citing Mr Davis’s SAS training, as she warned he is trained to survive but also trained to take people out.
After his talks with the prime minister, Mr Davis’s chief of staff, Stewart Jackson, claimed victory by posting on Twitter: “Helpful dialogue. The backstop paper has been clarified and amended and now expresses, in much more detail, the time limited nature of our proposal something the PM and DD have always been committed to.
A source close to Mr Davis said: Obviously there’s been a back and forth on this paper, as there always is when the government publishes anything.
The backstop paper has been amended and now expresses, in much more detail, the time limited nature of our proposal something the prime minister and David Davis have always been committed to.
Following his around half hour-long meeting with Mrs May, Number 10 revealed the prime minister expected Mr Davis to remain in his position.
Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer characterised Thursday’s events as another embarrassing day for the government.
He said: The clock is ticking on the Brexit process and it is imperative that an agreement is struck which will protect jobs, the economy and ensure there is no hard border in Northern Ireland.
Instead, with the threat of a cabinet resignation, Theresa May has signed up to a flawed proposal which is inconsistent with her earlier commitments.
The prime minister should urgently rethink her decision and back Labour’s call for a new comprehensive customs union and new deal with the single market after Brexit.
Brussels had suggested effectively keeping Northern Ireland in a customs union with the bloc in the event a UK-EU agreement didn’t prevent a hard border. But, under pressure from her DUP allies at Westminster, the prime minister dismissed the plan, explaining it threatened the constitutional integrity of the UK.
Mrs May faces an EU summit on 28 June, at which both sides were hoping to demonstrate progress in the Brexit negotiations.
The pressure of Brexit will not ease on Mrs May before the Brussels meeting, with it confirmed MPs will consider House of Lords amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.