UK deal with EU will not return to ‘arguments of the past’, minister says

Exclusive: Nick Thomas-Symonds says growth is highest priority of talks as Keir Starmer prepares to meet EU chief

The UK’s new deal with the EU will be a break from “debates and arguments of the past,” the UK’s chief negotiator, Nick Thomas-Symonds, has said, pledging growth would be the highest priority of the talks.

It comes as Keir Starmer prepares to meet the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, in London, as momentum builds towards a crucial EU-UK summit in May.