DAVID Mundell has declined to say if Britain will leave the European Union on March 29, saying only he wanted it to.

The Scottish Secretary was also unable to say for certain if Theresa May would be in a position next week to present to the UK Parliament her fully-formed Plan B proposal.

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Speaking after another meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee in Whitehall, Mr Mundell was asked about businesses being left in limbo given his colleague Greg Clark, the Business Secretary, asserted on Wednesday that the effective deadline for a Brexit deal was not March 29 but within “the next couple of weeks” because exporters had to know what the situation was before they shipped goods on a six-week sea journey to the Far East.

“Obviously, we are short of time and what is important is we do reach as quick a conclusion as is possible,” stressed the Secretary of State.

He went on: “I very much regret the uncertainty that businesses are facing; that’s why I voted for a deal at the beginning of January because that was the optimum way forward. However, Parliament rejected that deal and we have to deal with the reality that we face and the reality is there has to be further discussion with the EU, hopefully to get a change to the backstop, so that a majority of MPs can support the deal. That’s what I am working towards, that’s what I hope others would do the same.”

Asked if Westminster, following her talks with the EU, could expect Mrs May to present it with a specific Brexit proposal next week, Mr Mundell replied: “What the PM is clearly doing is exploring with Brussels what the options are and where they stand on those various options.

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“Clearly, they are very very reluctant to open up the legal text but they have indicated, from what I can gather, that there would be less reluctance to have some clarification or confirmation of the meaning of that text; confirmation, for example, that the backstop was a temporary measure.

“It’s important the options are explored, so that we can find one that can command agreement between both of us because this process isn’t about assertion and asserting what you want but reaching an agreement, which is what the PM is trying to do.”

Asked again if MPs could expect to be presented with a Plan B, the Scottish Secretary said: “Parliament will be presented with a specific proposal when there is one to table. We have set out what the procedure is to be next week and the PM will update the Commons and because the motion that has to be put down will be amendable, Parliament will be able to determine what it votes on.”

It is becoming increasingly clear that the vote next Thursday will not be a so-called meaningful vote on a Government plan but, rather, on a series of options, which ministers can simply take note of. The meaningful vote, the second of its kind, is not expected until the last week in February.

Mr Mundell brushed aside the notion of extending Article 50 but when asked if, without such a move, some of his Cabinet colleagues could resign, he replied: “What everybody is focused on who has a genuine interest - rather than a political interest in trying to force another independence referendum or bring about a general election - is how we get a deal, that can command majority support in the House of Commons and that is where my Cabinet colleagues and I are coming from in that regard.”

Asked if he thought Britain would leave the EU on March 29, the Secretary of State said: “The PM has made it very clear it’s her intention that we leave on March 29 and the sooner we can conclude an agreement then the better to allow that to happen.”

Asked if he personally believed the country would leave the EU on March 29, he replied: “I want it to happen on March 29.”