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Having voted to leave the EU, the UK was preparing to commence withdrawal talks with the bloc under the premiership of Prime Minister Theresa May. David Davis was Brexit Secretary at the time, tasked with negotiating with the EU to secure a favourable deal. He described the EU’s position at the time as “illogical” and said he took “slight offence” to suggestions that European courts were better than those in Britain.

Asked about the EU’s insistance the two sides should first make progress on citizens’ rights, the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and a financial settlement before starting discussions on a future relationship, Mr Davis said the sequencing was “illogical”.

He argued on ITV: “How on earth do you resolve the issue of the border with Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland unless you know what our general borders policy is, what the customs agreement is, what the free trade agreement is, whether you need to charge tariffs at the border or not?

“You can’t decide one without the other, it’s wholly illogical … That will be the row of the summer.”

He also said Britain was ready to argue against allowing the European Court of Justice to oversee the rights of EU citizens living in Britain after the country left the bloc.

Mr Davis continued: “There will be arguments over fine detail … like whether the European Court of Justice oversees these rights after we’ve left.

“We’ll have an argument about that … The simple truth is that we are leaving, we are going to be outside the reach of the European court.”

A lot has happened since then, but Brexit talks remain tense as Boris Johnson’s government takes on the EU in trade negotiations.

Mr Barnier maintained his plans released earlier this year that quota-free access to EU markets was dependent on the inclusion of “a mechanism to uphold the high standards we have on social, environmental, tax, and state aid matters today and in their future developments”.

Mr Johnson has hit back by saying that “no need” to follow Brussels’ rules.

He also said that if Mr Barnier thwarts his proposal for a Canada-style free trade agreement, he could instead pursue a deal like Australia’s.

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The Prime Minister added: “I have no doubt that in either case the UK will prosper mightily”.

Mr Barnier has also told the UK in recent months that if it wants access to European markets, it must allow the EU27 access to British fishing grounds.

Amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis – some have called for the transition period to be extended, however the prime minister has rejected this proposal.

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