Launching the 77-page document in a statement to the House of Commons, Mr Davis said the paper confirmed Prime Minister Theresa May's vision of "an independent and truly global United Kingdom".

Confirming the UK's strategy would be guided by the 12 principles set out by Mrs May in her Lancaster House speech last month, Mr Davis said the government was aiming for "a new, positive and constructive partnership between Britain and the European Union that works in our mutual interest".

The white paper, entitled The United Kingdom's Exit From And New Partnership With The European Union, was published a day after MPs voted overwhelmingly to permit Mrs May to press ahead with starting withdrawal negotiations under Article 50 of the EU treaties.

Mrs May's foreword to the white paper was made up of extracts from her Lancaster House speech, in which she said that forging a new partnership with Europe and a "stronger, fairer, more global" Britain would be "the legacy of our time, the prize towards which we work, the destination at which we arrive once the negotiation is done".

In a preface to the document, Mr Davis said that Britain entered the negotiations which the Government intends to trigger by the end of March in "a position of strength".

This document sets out our plan for the strong new partnership we want to build with the EU- David Davis

Stressing that the UK "wants the EU to succeed", he urged the remaining 27 member states and European institutions to be guided in the upcoming negotiations by "the principles set out in the EU Treaties concerning a high degree of international co-operation and good neighbourliness".

Mr Davis said the government would not publish details of its plans that would undermine Britain's negotiating position, but promised "extensive engagement with Parliament" and a "high degree of public engagement" as the process went forward.

"This document sets out our plan for the strong new partnership we want to build with the EU," he said.

"Whatever the outcome of our negotiations, we will seek a more open, outward-looking, confident and fairer UK, which works for all."