Theresa May urges public to 'trust me' to deliver Brexit amid increasingly bitter cabinet rows

Infighting between senior ministers dismissed as simply ‘noisy debate and technical discussions’

Theresa May has urged the public to “trust me” to deliver Brexit, as she fights off mounting criticism that her warring cabinet threatens to derail the process.

The prime minister dismissed bitter rows among her top ministers about how Britain should leave the European Union as simply “noisy debate and technical discussions”.

Instead, she insisted Britain remained on course to “take back control” of its money, laws and borders, including “billions of pounds” that would be diverted to the NHS.

Dismissing talk of compromise, Ms May again vowed to take the UK out of the EU single market and customs union and “establish our own independent trade policy”.

“You can trust me to deliver,” she promised, writing for a national newspaper after a week in which her own Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, dismissed her customs proposal as “crazy”.

However, the article offered no hint of a solution to the stark disagreements over customs after Brexit, with a deadline set by the EU just six weeks away.

The embarrassing clash has seen the prime minister divide key ministers into two groups examining rival plans, in a bid to find an acceptable compromise.

No 10 has abandoned any prospect of an agreement at a meeting of the inner cabinet on Tuesday – and is admitting there may be no resolution before the summer is out.

The EU has requested a solution to customs and trade regulations that can satisfy fears of a new hard border in Ireland by its summit at the end of June.

However, on Friday, a Downing Street spokesman reiterated that it did not recognise the cut-off, insisting: “We are not setting any further deadlines for ourselves apart from October. That continues to be our focus.”

Meanwhile, Dominic Grieve, the former Tory attorney general, called for Mr Johnson to resign for refusing to accept collective responsibility – but Ms May is widely viewed as too weak to move against him.

In the article, she wrote: “I will ensure that we take back control of our borders. The public want their own government to decide on the number of people coming into Britain from across the European Union and that is what we are going to do.

“I will ensure that we take back control of our money. We have agreed a settlement with the European Union and the days of vast contributions from taxpayers to the EU budget are coming to an end.

“So Brexit means there will be billions of pounds that we used to send to Brussels which we will now be able to spend on domestic priorities, including our National Health Service.”

The government has been accused of “negotiating with itself”, because both its customs proposals have already been rejected by Brussels.

Mr Johnson dismissed Ms May’s preferred customs partnership, under which the UK would collect tariffs on behalf the EU, as “crazy” – backing an alternative plan, based on untested tracking technology.

The partnership plan will be discussed by Brexiteer opponents Liam Fox and Michael Gove, in a group also including David Lidington, a May loyalist.

Meanwhile, two sceptics, Greg Clark and Karen Bradley, will examine the tech-based “max-fac” proposal – requiring border checks – with supporter David Davis.

The set-up suggests neither group will reach a decision in favour, unless one member can be “turned”.