Trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan kicking off talks in Saudi Arabia.

A CERTAIN dreary and dismal familiarity has developed around the Tories’ desperate efforts to secure trade deals with countries outwith the European Union, having decided to turn their back on the UK’s biggest export market.

The UK has ditched plans for a Brexit "bonfire" of retained EU law, with Rishi Sunak being accused of breaking his promises by a former Cabinet minister.