The Deputy Prime Minister has acknowledged that rejoining the European Union could provide a clear economic boost to the United Kingdom, as he repeatedly refused to dismiss the possibility of reversing Brexit. His comments, made during a detailed interview, reignited the national conversation about whether the country might eventually return to closer ties with the bloc.

The Deputy Prime Minister, speaking in an exclusive interview on the News Agents podcast, refused to rule out reversing Brexit, on seven separate occasions, arguing that leaving the EU “badly damaged our economy”.

During the interview, he recognised that rejoining the customs union is not “currently” official government policy, however he added that the potential gains are “self evident”.

Asked whether he would like Britain to return to the customs union, he answered,

“That is not currently our policy. That’s not currently where we are.”

He told the programme,

“It’s self evident that leaving the EU badly damaged our economy, took us out of an important marketplace and created serious friction. Untruths were being peddled.”

On the example of other countries, he said, “But you can see countries like Turkey with a customs union seemingly benefiting and seeing growth in their economy and again, that’s self evident.”

Mr Lammy’s remarks come as a growing number of MPs from his party are calling for deeper engagement with the EU. Among them is the Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who has urged that Labour should undo what he described as “the economic damage done by Brexit”.

Not everyone in the party appears aligned. Darren Jones, the party’s Chief Secretary, appeared to push back on Mr Lammy’s comments, stressing that any adjustment in policy would be announced in Parliament and not on a podcast.

Although the idea of rejoining the customs union has been raised in discussion, Mr Lammy’s office confirmed that there is presently no official plan to take that step.