LONDON • British Prime Minister Theresa May has named an elite team of four senior ministers whom she will work with as she prepares for two years of talks on quitting the European Union.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Brexit Secretary David Davis, both key Brexit supporters, will sit alongside Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, who both backed staying in the EU before last June's referendum.

Mrs May herself will chair the committee, a statement from the Cabinet Office said on Thursday.

The group is expected to meet regularly and its remit will be to oversee the negotiations.

The announcement comes a day after Mrs May triggered the formal start of the Brexit process by invoking Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty.

Her decision to create such a small team to oversee the talks reinforces her reputation for relying on a close-knit group of advisers and seeking tight control over the flow of information inside the government.

BLOOMBERG