London's Times newspaper says a leaked memo prepared for Britain's Cabinet Office says the government has no plan for leaving the European Union and may need to hire up to 30,000 people to complete the country's exit from the 28-nation bloc, the Associated Press reports.

The newspaper reported Tuesday, November 15 that the memo says splits within Prime Minister Theresa May's team have delayed development of a negotiating strategy and that it may take another six months to come up with a plan.

The government plans to trigger the formal process of leaving the EU by April.

The November 7 memo written by a consultant says that "despite extended debate among (department) permanent secretaries, no common strategy has emerged."

It says this is partly because May is "drawing in decisions and details to settle matters herself."

The government says it "does not recognise" the leaked memo, BBC reports.

A government source said the document was an unsolicited pitch for work from a consultancy firm.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said he had "no idea" where the report came from.