Desperate Theresa May forced to appoint complete unknown Stephen Barclay Brexit Secretary after Gove turned down poison chalice of selling her deal

DESPERATE Theresa May today appointed an complete unknown to be the next Brexit Secretary after Michael Gove turned the job down - fearing it would prove a poisoned chalice.

The PM asked Stephen Barclay, the Leave-voting Health Minister, to take over from Dominic Raab as a leadership crisis swirled around her.

Rebel Tories have claimed a vote of confidence could be imminent as dozens of furious MPs call for her to be toppled.

Mrs May revealed this evening that Mr Barclay, 46, will be the next Brexit Secretary - but he won't be involved in talks with Brussels.

The role, previously one of the most powerful in the Cabinet, has been downgraded and will now only involve preparing Britain for our EU exit.

The appointment of the North East Cambridgeshire MP sent shockwaves through Westminster due to his previous low profile.

He said this evening he was "delighted" to get the role and promised to "keep up the momentum" to finalise the deal and "deliver a Brexit that works for the whole UK".

He is believed to have landed the job because he is one of the few Brexit-voting ministers left in the Government.

Elected to the Commons in 2010, he was a minister in the Treasury for two years before becoming deputy to the Health Secretary in January.

Environment Secretary Mr Gove was last night offered the Brexit Secretary job, but refused because he didn't want the responsibility of promoting Mrs May's deal.

Mrs May's mini-reshuffle came as she prepared to fight a leadership election which could come early next week.

This morning Brexiteer MP Steve Baker told the hardline European Research Group that enough Tories have called for a vote of no confidence to trigger a leadership election - then he admitted this afternoon that he doesn't know if that's true and a vote won't come for several days.

Meanwhile pro-Brexit members of the Cabinet vowed they will work together to get the proposed withdrawal agreement torn up.

As Westminster endured another day of high drama:

• Theresa May was confronted by voters during a fiery radio phone-in
• The PM got a boost as Michael Gove announced he'll stay in the Cabinet
• Mrs May appointed Amber Rudd as the new Work and Pensions Secretary
• She insisted the Brexit deal is personal - revealing her life depends on insulin imported from the EU
• But not a single Leave-backing minister has publicly spoken out in support of the deal
• Official briefings for MPs on the proposed Brexit deal were cancelled
• A second referendum on Brexit was said to be more likely than ever after this week's chaos

Backbench chief Graham Brady could announce at any moment that he has received the 48 letters needed to trigger a contest.

Ex-Defence Minister Mark Francois today became the latest MP to call for Mrs May to go, sending a damning letter with the title "She just doesn't listen".

He said colleagues had repeatedly tried to get Mrs May to change tack, but "no one really listened to a word we said".

Blasting her aides and close MPs who "have never accepted the result of the referendum", he said that Remainers were effectively keeping us in the EU altogether.

Mr Francois wrote: "They have helped to steer the negotiations in such a way that means, quite simply, we will not in fact leave the European Union but effectively remain within it.

"This is a betrayal of the decision of 17.4million British people and the clear instruction that was given to all Members of Parliament by them in the referendum."

He concluded: "Now the details of the deal are available we can see how truly awful it is... I can never vote for this."

This morning Steve Baker, deputy chair of the ERG, texted allies saying: "My count is over 48 with about a dozen probables on top."

But hours later he rowed back and admitted he's not sure how many people have genuinely sent in letters.

He told the BBC's Politics Live: "I'm afraid it's leaked out of a WhatsApp group that I said earlier today that my count is over 48 with another dozen probables on top.

"But as I've told colleagues since that leak, only Graham knows the accurate number. My number will be inaccurate because people will withdraw letters, people will say they put letters in when they haven't.

"My count will be inaccurate - it is a grave matter but I think we're close."

The Sun is aware of the names of 37 MPs who claim to have sent in letters so far.

Sir Graham has remained tight-lipped about the total number he's received, and is understood to have left Westminster for the weekend.

This morning Mrs May was confronted by voters on a live LBC radio phone-in - with the very first caller telling her to quit and make way for a real Brexiteer.

The caller, a Tory councillor from Louth named Daniel, called on Mrs May to "do the right thing in the national interest and stand down to allow someone from the Brexit camp to take the lead" - but she was adamant her deal was the only one on the table.

Another caller, Gary from Acton, also launched a blistering attack on Mrs May - comparing her to pre-WW2 PM Neville Chamberlain because she's "appeased a foreign power".

He said she should resign and make way for Jacob Rees-Mogg - who is leading the rebellion against her.

The PM vowed to stay in her job, saying: "I am bringing back what I think is the best deal for Britain."

She insisted she had seen off attempts by Brussels to split up the UK and place a border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Mrs May said: "What the EU wanted was to separate Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK - we said no.

"They said they wanted a customs border down the Irish sea... in October they said, OK, we have to do it in a different way."

She added: "From the EU's point of view, they want to see the ECJ still having jurisdiction over us - we are very clear that cannot be the case.

"We've held out, we've held our ground and they've given in.

"But it's a negotiation and any negotiation, complex as it is, is actually a negotiation which leads to compromises."

And she hinted the current version of the deal could change ahead of an EU summit pencilled in for next weekend, saying: "We've still got some things to sort out with them."

Mrs May added that the agreement would be "finalised" at the meeting on November 25 and said: "I will then bring that deal back to Parliament."

EU envoy Michel Barnier revealed that negotiators on both sides will meet twice over the weekend to try and hammer out further details of the draft text.

Allies of the PM today mobilised to speak in favour of her deal and talk up its prospects of passing through the Commons.

Trade Secretary Liam Fox, a staunch Brexiteer, said: "We are elected to do what is in the national interest. I hope that across Parliament we will recognise that a deal is better than no deal.

"Businesses do require certainty, confidence as they go forward with their planning."

Mrs May's de facto deputy David Lidington demanded rebel MPs withdraw the letters and accused the of damaging Britain.

He blasted: "Withdraw them, because I don't think you're doing the country any good by attacking the Prime Minister in this way.

"I've seen no plausible alternative plan from any of those criticising her or wanting to challenge her position.

"I believe if it does comes to a challenge the Prime Minister will win handsomely and she will deserve to do so.";

The PM is clinging to No10 by her fingertips after two Cabinet ministers were among four to quit over her Brexit deal.

Dominic Raab and Esther McVey accused Mrs May of selling out voters by signing up to an agreement which could keep Britain closely tied to the EU for good.

Mrs May feared that Michael Gove and up to four others could follow them out of the Cabinet, dealing her authority a fatal blow.

It now appears that all her senior ministers apart from Mr Raab and Ms McVey will stay for the foreseeable future.

But Andrea Leadsom is leading a group of five - including Mr Gove, Mr Fox, Penny Mordaunt and Chris Grayling - who plan to meet regularly and strike a united pro-Brexit front, including a bid to rewrite the proposed deal.

The revelation ramps up the pressure on the PM - because it suggests they could still quit rather than sign up to the existing agreement.

Irish leader Leo Varadkar today insisted the deal can't be significantly changed, saying: "This is a withdrawal agreement which took the best part of two years to negotiate involving 28 countries all of whom have their own particular concerns and interests.

"If you start trying to amend it or unthink it you might find that the whole thing unravels."

Mrs May used a defiant press conference last night to face down her critics, insisting she will battle for her future "with every fibre of my being".

The PM said: "From the very beginning I have known what I wanted to deliver for the British people to honour their vote in the referendum.

"The British people just want to get on with it - they are looking to the Conservative party to deliver."

And asked by The Sun if she would fight against the leadership challenge launched by furious MPs, Mrs May replied: "Am I going to see this through? Yes."

And she compared herself to England cricket legend Geoffrey Boycott, adding: "What do we know about Geoffrey Boycott? He stuck at it and got the runs in the end."

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