Conservative MPs abandon Theresa May’s Brexit deal and plan to vote it down in the Commons next month

EVEN more doubting Tory MPs abandoned Theresa May’s Brexit deal as Cabinet ministers plunged her plan to sell it into confusion.

A total of 83 of the PM’s own MPs had spoken out to indicate they will vote it down next month.

And a former minister on her frontbench predicted the true number is now more than 100, telling The Sun that Mrs May now has “zero chance” of it passing the Commons.

Downing Street’s desperate effort to win round sceptical Conservatives Brexiteers as well as Remainers was dealt a fresh blow when Amber Rudd blew apart Mrs May’s claim that voting for her agreement was the only way to avoid no deal.

The Work and Pensions Secretary, who only returned to the Cabinet last week, insisted: “The House of Commons will stop no deal. There isn’t a majority for that to take place”.

A second Cabinet minister, Treasury chief secretary Liz Truss went on to insist the only choice is actually between the PM’s deal and no Brexit at all.

Dubbing the moment as “a historic opportunity to leave the EU”, Ms Truss argued: “If my colleagues don’t sign up to this in Parliament, we’re in grave danger of not leaving at all”.

But the PM stuck to her long-running line to tell the Commons that the alternative to her deal “will either be more uncertainty, more division, or it could risk no Brexit at all”.

Three Tory backbenchers thought to be loyal to Mrs May all spoke out to criticise the proposed deal - Neil Parish, Damian Collins and George Freeman.

Slamming the deal’s controversial Irish backstop for threatening the UK’s integrity, Tiverton and Honiton MP Mr Parish told Mrs May: “I am a great supporter of yours and I accept what a difficult and tough job you have.

“Please can I ask you to listen to these concerns and renegotiate the deal before you put it onto the floor of this House?”

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaped on the government chaos to insist Mrs May’s deal was “dead”.

But the PM hit back to repeat Mr Corbyn’s weekend gaffe back to him as she reminded MPs that he “hasn’t even read” the draft Brexit deal.

Tory ministers have been told by No10 to expect the ‘meaningful vote’ on her deal to be held on December 11.

Meanwhile Environment Secretary Michael Gove failed to give Eurosceptic MPs firm assurances that Britain will be free of EU quotas by January 2021.

Furious Brexiteers demanded he set a red line to ensure any extension of the transition period beyond December 2020 will not apply to fishing.

But Mr Gove wouldn’t give a final date for being outside the EU’s Commons Fisheries Policy - only saying Britain would become an “independent coastal state” after the transition period.

He urged Eurosceptics: “We need to keep our eyes on the prize of making sure that after that transition period we can have all the opportunities to do the right thing environmentally, economically and socially.”

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