Media speculations on Britain's quit from EU single market accumulating

Just 48 hours before British Prime Minister Theresa May's widely anticipated speech on her Brexit plans, speculations by local media on Britain's quit from European single market are accumulating.

Most of Britain's national newspapers trailed details Sunday of what May is expected to outline in the her speech due on Tuesday.

The Sunday Express in London says May is to get tough with Brussels, saying Britain will quit the single market and customs union if the country can't take back control of its borders.

May, according to the report, will urge both leave and remain supporters to end their insults and divisions and unite behind her vision for a "truly global Britain."

Express is not the only media here making such a speculation.

The Sunday Times, on its front page, says May will finally lay her cards on the table, making it clear that Britain is set to pull out of the single market and European customs union.

And it says May will press Europe for preferential access to European markets for the motor and pharmaceutical industries as well as the finance sector.

The report quoted a Downing Street source admitting that May's stance could cause a market correction that could lead to a fresh fall in the value of the pound.

Sterling is currently trading at the rate of one pound to 1.22 U.S. dollars, making exports cheaper but imports more expensive. The business and finance world will eagerly await the opening of the markets Monday to see any reaction to May's words.

The Sunday Telegraph also carries a report headlined "May's big gamble on a clean Brexit." The newspaper tells its readers "She's gone for the full works. People will know that when she said Brexit means Brexit, she really meant it."

A source close to Downing Street is quoted by media as saying May on Tuesday will set out her definitive plan for Brexit.

Government officials often use the weekend media to give strong hints of what a senior figure, such as the prime minister, will say.

So the reports carried by several Sunday's newspapers are expected to cause dismay among pro-remain supporters who fear that Britain losing access to a ready market of more than 400 million European customers will badly dent the British economy.

Under European Union rules, continued British access to the single market is dependent on the free flow of EU citizens into Britain.

However, out-of-control immigration was one of the main reasons many people voted in last June's referendum to support Britain quitting the EU.

Some political commentators also speculated that May is making a gamble by saying that in the expected tough round of negotiations with Brussels, she would be prepared to pull out of the single market.

The quit will also cause concerns in some of the major EU member states, particularly France and Germany, which are highly dependent on exports of goods into Britain.

Writing in the Sunday Times, the Brexit Secretary David Davis says Britain does not want Europe to fail. He said Britain is seeking a new deal with Europe.

A poll published Sunday in the Observer newspaper indicates that by a margin of 30 percent, the British public trust May's Conservative government to deliver a successful Brexit deal compared with rival parties.

Ambassadors from the 27 EU member states have been invited to Lancaster House on Tuesday where May will deliver her speech. Enditem