Britain will not be “plunged into a Mad Max-style world borrowed from dystopian fiction” after it leaves the EU, the Brexit secretary will say in a speech.

David Davis will say fears about a “race to the bottom” in workers’ rights and environmental standards are “based on nothing”.

He will argue for continued close co-operation between the UK and the EU on regulations and standards.

This will help ensure “frictionless” trade, he will say.

The Brexit secretary’s address to Austrian business leaders in Vienna is the latest in a series of speeches the UK government is calling “the road to Brexit” as it faces demands to spell out details of the future partnership it wants with the EU.

The UK says it wants to avoid obstacles to smooth trade with the EU although it is leaving the single market and the customs union when Brexit happens in March 2019.

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Mr Davis will say this can be achieved if both sides recognise each other’s standards and regulations, promising the UK will “continue our track record of meeting high standards” once outside the EU.

The government has previously spoken of adopting a “new economic model” to stay competitive if it is locked out of the EU single market after Brexit, and Labour has claimed the UK could be turned into a “low-wage, offshore tax haven”.

Mr Davis will hit back at the government’s critics in his speech, invoking the Mad Max series of action films which portray societal collapse in a lawless future world.