Did he jump too soon? Yet another key Leaver hints he’ll back PM’s deal

FORMER Cabinet minister John Whittingdale has become the latest senior Eurosceptic to suggest he could back Theresa May’s deal.

Mr Whittingdale, who was one of 118 Tory MPs who voted it down in January, hinted he may now support the Prime Minister’s plan to ensure Brexit is not delayed – or called off.

The former culture secretary said he continued to have concerns about the deal’s Irish backstop, which critics fear could leave the UK trapped in a customs union. He told ITV’s Peston programme that the Prime Minister had to secure ‘something which gives us legal certainty that there is a way out of the backstop’. However, he hinted he could now back Mrs May in the next crunch vote, expected on March 12.

‘I want to leave on March 29,’ he said. ‘We have had to make compromises. There are a lot of things about the Withdrawal Agreement which I don’t like. But we will have that argument when we move into the next stage.’

Jacob Rees-Mogg, chairman of the European Research Group of MPs, revealed in yesterday’s Daily Mail that he could back the deal if Mrs May secured the ‘necessary assurances’ on the backstop. The admissions follow two key developments which have piled pressure on MPs to back Mrs May’s deal.

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister said she would offer Parliament a vote on delaying Brexit if her own plan is rejected.

Labour then formally adopted a second referendum as party policy – meaning a delay to Brexit could lead to it being called off entirely. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said Labour would force a vote on a second referendum when Mrs May brings her deal back before MPs. ‘Things are shifting,’ he said, adding: ‘There is a chance we could win it.’