U.K.'s Brexit plan? There is no plan, leaked memo says

Britain has no overall strategyfor leaving the European Union and splits in Prime MinisterTheresa May's cabinet could delay a clear negotiating positionfor six months, according to a memo for the government that wasleaked to The Times newspaper.

The document, prepared by consultancy firm Deloitte for the government department that supports the prime minister and her cabinet, casts Britain's top team in a chaotic light: May is trying to control key Brexit questions herself while her senior ministers are divided and the civil service is in turmoil.

"The Prime Minister is rapidly acquiring the reputation ofdrawing in decisions and details to settle matters herself which is unlikely to be sustainable," according to the document,dated Nov. 7 and published by The Times.

"It may be sixmonths before there is a view onpriorities/negotiation strategy as the political situation inthe U.K. and the EU evolves," said the document, titled "BrexitUpdate."

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May's spokeswoman said the Deloitte memo was unsolicited,had nothing to do with the government and had no credence.Deloitte declined immediate comment.

"It was not commissioned by the government," May'sspokeswoman told reporters. "It does seem as though this is afirm touting for business now aided by the media."

But such a disorderly portrayal of the governmentunderscores both the extent of the turmoil unleashed by the June23 vote to leave the EU and the uncertainties ahead as May triesto pull Britain out of the world's biggest trading bloc.

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Like the Brexit vote, Donald Trump's victory in the UnitedStates has underscored how swiftly assumptions are being turnedupside down, pushing governments, investors and chief executivesinto the unknown.

The pound fell as much as 1.3 percent to 87.07 pence pereuro following the memo leak before recovering to86.92 pence. It also lost more than half a percent to $1.2417.

The memo said no common strategy had emerged, partly as aresult of splits within the government and partly due to theevolving political situation in the rest of the EU where bothFrance and Germany face major elections in 2017.

May's cabinet is split, with Foreign Secretary BorisJohnson, Trade Minister Liam Fox and Brexit Minister David Davis who all campaigned to leave the EU on one side and financeminister Philip Hammond and Business Secretary Greg Clark whowanted to remain on the other, according to the memo.

May's priority, it said, is survival and keeping her rulingConservative Party together, rather than business or economicconsiderations.

"Industry has 2 unpleasant realisations first, that theGovernment's priority remains its political survival, not theeconomy," the memo said.

"Second, that there will be no clear economic-Brexitstrategy any time soon because it is being developed on acase-by-case basis as specific decisions are forced onGovernment."

'A gun at government's head'

The document also said that "major players" in industry werelikely to "point a gun at government's head" to secureassurances similar to that given to carmaker Nissan that itwould not suffer from Brexit.

"The public stance of Government is orientated primarily toits own supporters, with industry in particular barely being onthe radar screen yet," it said.

Government departments were working on more than 500Brexit-related projects and might require an additional 30,000civil servants, it said.

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If the Supreme Court forces the government to give lawmakersa say on triggering the formal talks to leave the bloc, someministers might be happy to see more radical Brexit optionswatered down, the memo said.

May has promised to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty,which kicks off two years of talks with Brussels, by the end ofMarch but she has so far given little away about her plans forBritain's future relationship with the bloc.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that Britainmust be clear about its aims for Brexit by the end of March.