Remainer rebels deny undermining Theresa May as they push EU to allow Britain to stay in the single market
BREXIT rebels denied undermining Theresa May last night as they pressed EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier on how to keep Britain in the single market.
A group of Remainer MPs, including ex-Attorney General Dominic Grieve and arch europhile Anna Soubry, travelled to Brussels to meet the Frenchman.
All of the five-strong gang, from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on EU Relations, backed Britain staying in the EU during the referendum.
They warned the PM that Remainer-dominated Parliament will be prepared to vote down any deal she secures with Brussels that doesn’t meet their demands.
However, the five insisted that they were not undermining Britain’s negotiating position in the eyes of EU leaders by meeting Mr Barnier.
And they revealed they would bring up the “rather important” issue of access to the single market for UK financial services after Brexit.
Mr Grieve and Ms Soubry were two key architects of the Government’s crushing Commons defeat over offering a “meaningful” vote on the final exit agreement.
Arriving for the meeting Ms Soubry tore into ministers, accusing them of giving the public an unrealistic picture of what kind of Brexit deal they can secure.
She raged: “I’m concerned about how realistic we’re being as a country and if we’re not being given the full picture by our Government that’s really important.”
Pressed on whether the visit was undermining the PM’s negotiating hand, she hit back: “That’s not true, I think it adds to it.”
Mr Grieve butted in: “This is part of this monolithic and confrontational view of Brexit. If you view it as a confrontation then you’re bound to end up with a bad outcome.”
Meanwhile Labour MP Chuka Umunna, also part of the group, warned Mrs May that Parliament is “not just a by-stander” in the negotiations.
He fumed: “We’re not going to behave like some simple rubber stamping mechanism.
“It’s all well and good coming up with a withdrawal agreement but if they can’t get it through parliament that represents a problem for all involved.”
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Ex-shadow chancellor Chris Leslie added: “Absolutely nothing is inevitable. There’s a whole series of choices available to Britain. It’s not a done decision.”
An EU Commission spokesman defended Mr Barnier’s decision to host the quintet, which followed meetings with high-profile Brexiteers last week.
He said: “Michel Barnier receives many, many people who are interested in the process, who have things to say about the process and his door is open for all of them.”