Britain must leave EU customs union: UK trade minister

Britain's trade minister says the country must leave the EU customs union to strike new trade deals after Brexit, widening a major fissure within British politics over future trade relations with the bloc.

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox says remaining inside the tariff-free EU trade zone "would limit our ability to reach new trade agreements with the world's fastest-growing economies."

But Fox was contradicted today by the trade department's former top civil servant. Martin Donnelly says quitting the customs union is like "giving up a three-course meal ... for the promise of a packet of crisps in the future."

The issue is a major fault line in U.K. Brexit plans. Opposition lawmakers are trying to ally with pro-EU Conservatives to win a vote in Parliament backing continued customs union membership.