BUSINESSES should be rewarded with a clear Brexit deal after coping with two years of uncertainty, the boss of Dorset Chamber said.

Theresa May’s cabinet spent hours yesterday debating the ‘divorce agreement’ the government negotiated with the EU.

But without support from some opposition MPs and the government’s Democratic Unionist Party partners, it is unlikely to pass through the Commons.

Ian Girling, chief executive of Dorset Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “Businesses, including many exporters in Dorset, must be able to successfully trade with the EU and across the rest of the world. We are keen to see details of any deal so we can see what it means exactly for business.

“Businesses in Dorset have coped admirably with the uncertainty of the past two years and will hope that this wait will be rewarded with a deal which gives them the clarity they need to grow and drive the economy.”

Simon Boyd, Brexit-supporting managing director of REIDsteel in Christchurch, called for the prime minister to quit.

He said leaving the EU without an agreement would be preferable to the deal terms that had been reported.

He added: “We would be paying £39billion for a divorce deal for absolutely nothing. What kind of divorce is it when you have to live by the married rules when it is over? If it was uncomfortable before the divorce proceedings, how uncomfortable would it be afterwards? “A great degree of theatre has been invoked by Mrs May to give the impression that she is trying to snatch a precious victory from the jaws of defeat when the truth is that she and her team will have done no more than snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

“Her position is clearly untenable and has been for some time. She must be replaced immediately.”

Andy Storey of Prendas Ciclismo, a worldwide retailer of cycle clothing in Parkstone, said the business paid the majority of its suppliers in euros and had seen exchange rates worsen.

“Simply put, the financial cost of Brexit has been felt by everybody in UK who buys anything in the supermarket, high street and online,” he said.

“We’ve had to put our prices up this year, with increases greater than ever before in our 23-year trading history, despite being an agile firm with a lean supply chain and that uses every single advantage we can to keep out overheads as low is as possible.

“Additionally, we’re currently developing an upgrade to our custom warehouse system with the Royal Mail that will hopefully ease as many customs requirements as possible. And I suspect it will only get worse.”

Nick Evans of Bournemouth, chairman of marketing company Extra Mile Communications, said: “Walking away from a direct channel to a market of friendly nations for an ideological principle seems crazy to me. A people’s vote is needed to verify we really want jump off this cliff.”