May has been hailed by many in her deeply divided Conservative party for rescuing the agreement to unlock the Brexit talks by offering EU member Ireland and her allies in Northern Ireland a pledge to avoid any return of a hard border.
By playing with the wording, May agreed that if the two sides failed to agree an overall Brexit deal, the United Kingdom would keep "full alignment" with those rules of the EU's single market that help cooperation between Ireland's north and south.
Davis described the commitment as more of a "statement of intent" than a legally binding measure -- something that might reassure hardline Brexit campaigners who fear that it could imply that Britain was leaving the EU in name only.
Despite last week's progress, May will enjoy little respite. The second phase of talks is expected to expose the rifts in her top team of ministers over what Britain should look like once it leaves the EU.
On Saturday, environment minister Michael Gove, a Brexit campaigner, opened up the possibility of changing the terms of any agreement with the EU after Brexit if Britons felt that the deal had not reflected their demands to "take back control".
"If the British people dislike the arrangement that we have negotiated with the EU, the agreement will allow a future government to diverge," Gove wrote in a column in the Daily Telegraph.
