It’s no bluff, No Deal is still a real prospect she tells MPs

THERESA May insisted yesterday that she was not bluffing when she threatened to pull the trigger on a no-deal Brexit if MPs threw out her withdrawal agreement.

Pressed repeatedly by MPs, she said that if the Commons voted down her deal next month, ‘then, obviously, decisions would have to be taken’.

She said no- deal planning would be stepped up if MPs rejected the agreement she has reached with the EU.

The Prime Minister appeared in front of the Commons liaison committee before flying out to the G20 summit in Argentina, where she will launch a frantic bid to sell her Brexit deal.

Mrs May was stung this week by criticism from Donald Trump, who said her proposals were ‘a good deal for the EU’ and would threaten hopes of a postBrexit trade deal with the US.

She refused to speculate about what she would do if the Commons rejected her Brexit deal on December 11, telling the committee she wanted MPs to ‘focus on the choice that lies in front of them’ and ignore other options.

She also said calls for another referendum or delaying the March 29 departure date were attempts to ‘frustrate’ Brexit, and the only deal on offer was hers.

When Labour MP Rachel Reeves put it to her that leaving without a deal would be ‘catastrophic’, Mrs May said the UK was leaving the EU in March and said she was promoting ‘a good deal’.

She added: ‘When we come to the vote... it will be for Parliamentarians to determine whether they want to deliver on the vote the British people took.

‘If the House were to vote down the deal... given that the European Union has been clear this is the deal that has been agreed... then decisions would have to be taken in relation to the actions that would need to be taken.’

Mrs May’s visit to Argentina comes as its relations with Britain thaw following decades of tension over the future of the Falkland Islands.

She will be the first British PM to visit Buenos Aires and only the second to visit the country, after Tony Blair

briefly crossed the border during a visit to Brazil in 2001. Mrs May will use talks with President Mauricio Macri today to warn there is ‘ no change’ in the UK’s support for the Falkland Islanders’ right to self- determination.

Whitehall sources said remaining restrictions on arms sales, which have been in place since the 1982 Falklands War, would not be lifted.

Instead, talks are expected to focus on trade. South America’s growing market is a key target for future trade deals, with a population of 638million and a growing middle class.

The Prime Minister is also ready to shake hands with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince at the G20 summit, despite worldwide condemnation of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents. No10 said the PM wanted to engage with Mohammed Bin Salman, the defacto leader of the key trade partner.