Business secretary says UK needs to understand direction of EU before signing up to closer relationship – as it happened

Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, has suggested the UK needs to know more about where the EU is heading before it signs up to a much closer relationship.

He made the comment in an interview with the Sun, a day after John Healey, the chancellor, also hinted that he might have reservations about Andy Burnham’s ambitions for a new relationship with the EU undoing the damage done by Brexit.

Burnham is attending a summit with the EU next month where new agreements on food standards, energy and youth mobility will be the main focus. There is strong support for all these initiatives in cabinet.