Theresa May sets sights beyond Europe

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham. Photo / AP

Britain must look beyond Europe for economic success, the Prime Minister has said as she suggested there would be no deal on immigration to keep the UK in the single market.

Setting out her first detailed blueprint for Brexit, Theresa May said that the UK would become "truly global" as she listed eight nations including New Zealand prepared to sign free trade deals with the UK.

Addressing the Conservative Party conference for the first time since becoming Prime Minister, May made it clear that border controls are a red line in the Brexit negotiations, saying that "we are not leaving the European Union only to give up control of immigration again".

May said that after Brexit the UK will be "a fully-independent, sovereign country" that will no longer be in the "jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice", suggesting that Britain is preparing to leave the single market. She said Tory MPs and peers trying to stop Britain from leaving the EU were "insulting the intelligence of the British people" and "subverting democracy".

May earlier said that Britain will leave the EU by 2019 after she announced that she will trigger Article 50 - the formal process to exit the bloc - by March next year.

"Brexit should not just prompt us to think about our new relationship with the European Union," May said. "It should make us think about our role in the wider world. It should make us think of 'Global Britain', a country with the self-confidence and the freedom to look beyond the continent of Europe and to the economic and diplomatic opportunities of the wider world. It was a vote for Britain to stand tall, to believe in ourselves, to forge an ambitious and optimistic new role in the world."

She added: "Countries including Canada, China, India, Mexico, Singapore and South Korea have already told us they would welcome talks on future free trade agreements. And we have already agreed to start scoping discussions on trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand. A truly global Britain is possible, and it is in sight. And it should be no surprise that it is. Because we are the fifth biggest economy in the world."