British business leaders have been told to brace for the possibility that Prime Minister Theresa May's government may walk out of Brexit talks this year, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
The move would be designed for "domestic consumption" to show the government is negotiating hard with the European Union, the newspaper reported. The newspaper did not reveal how it obtained the information.
The Sunday Telegraph said the briefing of business leaders by a senior May aide took place after last month's general election and the person has since left in the recent overhaul at the top of government.
May's office did not immediately to a request for comment.
The Sunday Telegraph quoted a source in May's office saying a retreat from talks is not part of its plans.
Brexit minister David Davis said two months ago that Britain will not pay €100 billion ($114 billion) to leave the European Union after it was reported that the EU was preparing to demand that amount.
The EU wants to agree with Britain on a formula for calculating how much it will owe the bloc after it leaves before it starts talks on its future trading relationship.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.