Theresa May drops 'Brexit means Brexit' for 'red, white and blue' slogan

Theresa May has ditched her infamous "Brexit means Brexit" slogan for a "red, white and blue Brexit" on Tuesday (6 December).

"People talk about the sort of Brexit that there is going to be – is it hard or soft, is it grey or white?" she told BBC News.

"Actually we want a red, white and blue Brexit. That is the right Brexit for the UK, the right deal for the UK."

The Conservative premier, speaking from Bahrain, also remained defiant on her no "running commentary" stance on the eve of possible rebellion in the House of Commons over her Brexit plans.

Up to 40 Tory MPs are reportedly planning to back a Labour motion on Wednesday which calls for "clarity" from the government over its exit strategy from the EU.

"I've always said to parliament that parliament will have many opportunities to have their say on these issues, but also when it is possible for me to set out more detail than I will do so," May said.

"That's why I've already said we will be triggering Article 50 [the mechanism to split from the EU] by March [2017]."

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, who has called for a second EU referendum on the terms of the UK's exit from the bloc, branded May's new Brexit slogan as "jingoistic claptrap".

"It doesn't matter what colour she tries to paint this, her plans to leave the Single Market will wreck the economy," he said. "If this Conservative government cared about Britain and what makes our country great, they would not be running headlong towards a hard Brexit that will blow a £220bn ($280bn) black hole in the budget.

"The Union Jack represents an open, tolerant, multicultural Britain, not the narrow-minded vision of Ukip and Farage."

The comments come just hours after the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michael Barnier called for an "orderly withdrawal".

"We are entering uncharted waters," the French politician warned. "The work will be legally complex, politically sensitive and it will have important consequences for our economies and people on both sides of the [English] Channel."

Barnier also said he hoped to complete negotiations with the UK by October 2018 and ratify the deal in March 2019.

But England's High Court ruled in November that MPs must have a vote on triggering Article 50. The government are currently appealing the decision in the Supreme Court, with a ruling expected in January 2017.