Mount Brexit threatens to blow as May calls cabinet to Chequers

The recent increase in seismic activity suggests a major eruption could be imminent

Tectonic plates are grinding ominously underneath a 16th-century manor house in Buckinghamshire. As Theresa May locks her cabinet away at Chequers on Thursday to agree an escape plan, the sharp uptick in seismic activity suggests Mount Brexit may be about to blow.

Every day brings a new tremor. First it was David Davis warning of "Mad Max dystopia" if colleagues light a bonfire of EU red tape. Then the proponents of this scorched earth approach fired back a "ransom note" of new demands. Now the optimistically-named Department for Exiting the EU has appeared to suggest it would rather remain in indefinite purgatory than commit to an end date for transition out of the bloc (for now).