By Greg Heffer, political reporter
Three of Theresa May's former cabinet ministers have requested a "sensible Brexit, please" at a meeting with the prime minister.
Amber Rudd, Justine Greening and Damian Green were spotted leaving Downing Street on Wednesday.
The trio, who all backed Remain at the EU referendum, are reported to have told Mrs May to ignore louder voices on the Remain and Leave wings of the Conservative Party.
They also urged the prime minister to keep the UK closely aligned to the EU's single market and customs union after Brexit, according to The Times.
Ms Rudd told the newspaper: "That's where the vast majority of the party is.
"We just haven't been as shouty. We wanted to tell the prime minister what lots of MPs are telling us: sensible Brexit, please."
Unlike other Remain-supporting Tories, Ms Rudd did not back staying in the EU's customs union, but added: "Whatever customs union alternative we go for we have to give ourselves sufficient time to deliver it.
"What is practical must be the guiding principle while protecting the Good Friday Agreement."
In response to the report of their meeting, backbench Tory MP Paul Masterton branded the trio "Pragmateers".
Downing Street confirmed to Sky News the meeting took place but added no further detail other than the prime minister "meets regularly with MPs".
Ms Rudd resigned as home secretary last month amid the Windrush immigration scandal.
In January, Ms Greening quit government after the prime minister tried to move her from her role as education secretary to another cabinet position.
Mr Green, who had been serving as Mrs May's de facto deputy prime minister, was sacked last December after admitting he lied about the presence of pornography on his House of Commons computer.
The trio's meeting with the prime minister came after Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, who leads an influential group of backbench Brexiteers, confessed to "doubts" about Mrs May and questioned whether the government really wants to leave the EU.
On the other wing of the Conservative Party, nine Remain-supporting Tory MPs have tabled an amendment to key Brexit legislation calling on the government to stay in a customs union with the EU.
The government is expected to face a series of crunch votes on the issue when Brexit legislation returns to the House of Commons next month.
The Times also reported France is blocking the UK from remaining part of an EU system for combating terrorism, cross-border crime and illegal migration after Brexit.
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The government is currently battling to keep the UK signed up to EU programmes despite Brussels resistance to non-member states having full access to the bloc's schemes.
A spokesperson for the French embassy branded the claims France wants the UK out of the Prum Convention as "absurd".
Original ArticlePolitics
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