Inner Brexit circle: May is playing it close amid government tension

Still, security and immigration are clearly priorities for her government. Questions over whether that comes from the number of Home Office imports are aired in a paper by Charles Grant, director of the CER.

While praising some of the individuals working closely with May, he argues there is a lack of specific expertise on the EU, diplomacy, economics, financial market or business.

And Grant cites other risks of such centralised decision making.

“People in the inner circle may become overstretched so that important decisions are delayed, and centralisation may discourage the tapping of outside expertise,” he writes.

But he also outlines the positives of focusing on a “small circle of trusted allies”, including fewer leaks and the ability to act fast “with minimal foot-dragging from other Whitehall departments”.

Charles Grant's paper 'Mrs May's emerging deal on Brexit: Not just hard, but also difficult' can be read here.