THE Government’s priority in Brexit negotiations should be to protect jobs, economic growth and prosperity, Chancellor Philip Hammond has said.

Formal EU talks are due to start on Monday and Mr Hammond’s comments are likely to be seen as a further indication of him pressing for the Government to take a softer line on Brexit.

Any such approach would contrast to the immigration-driven approach previously set out by Prime Minister Theresa May.

However, the Chancellor declined to comment on whether he supported Britain’s continued membership of the EU single market or customs union.

Brexit Secretary David Davis and European Commission chief negotiator Michel Barnier are due to meet early next week to kick off negotiations over the UK’s future relationship with the EU.

Speaking as he arrived for an EU finance ministers meeting in Luxembourg, Mr Hammond said: “We should prioritise protecting jobs, protecting economic growth and protecting prosperity as we enter those negotiations and take them forward.”

Speaking exclusively to The Northern Echo prior to the General Election, the Chancellor said Brexit was an opportunity for North-East businesses to forge greater international links, adding the Government remains keen to attract fresh investment into the UK.

He also said smaller companies have already taken inspiration from Sunderland car maker Nissan, which is bringing production of new models to its Sunderland plant, and cast off Brexit jitters to commit their futures to the country, adding he wants to protect the North-East’s strong balance of trade, which has long seen the region outperform other areas across the country.

He added: “We understand Brexit represents an uncertainty for business and we want to shut that down as soon as we can by getting on with the negotiations and getting to a clear picture of a deal with the EU so we know what our future relationship will look like.

“We have got big opportunities ahead, which we need to work together to exploit.

“We want to see a Britain that is strong and independent, in control of its own borders, its own money and its own laws, but that also has to be a Britain that is doing good, strong business with the rest of the world.

“We have already taken steps to increase our support to exporters but it is not just British companies exporting, it is attracting foreign, direct investment into the UK to use the UK as a platform for making products and exporting them.

“We’ve had a very strong vote of confidence from Nissan with their commitment to new investment in Sunderland.

“It gets a lot of publicity because Nissan is a big company but other, smaller companies are making decisions every day of the week, which represent a vote of confidence in the future.”