Several Whitehall officials, including advisers in No. 10 Downing Street, support an idea to fold the Brexit department into a souped-up Foreign Office (FCO) immediately after Brexit | Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images
The government is considering abolishing the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) after the UK's departure date of 29 March 2019. The department, headed by David Davis, was established by the prime minister, Theresa May, shortly after the EU referendum in 2016 to handle Brexit negotiations. May has said she wants a "frictionless" border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, but that will not be possible without agreeing on trade arrangements with Brussels. Alternatively DExEU could simply be renamed while it continues negotiating with the EU post-Brexit.