Leadsom: This used to be the Cabinet that would deliver Brexit ... now it’s not

‘She sounded like it might be final straw’ And a warning from Truss...

If the Tories don’t make Brexit happen soon, we’ll live in a barren land ruled by Jeremy ’ Corbyn – with all of us in a gulag ‘

ANDREA Leadsom ‘tore into’ Cabinet Remainers for thwarting Brexit yesterday as she hit out at plans for a lengthy delay – and hinted she could quit.

During a fiery meeting of the Cabinet, the Commons leader rounded on colleagues for losing their nerve and allowing the UK to be dragged into asking for a humiliating delay.

She said: ‘This used to be the Cabinet that would deliver Brexit and now, from what I’m hearing, it’s not.’

Treasury chief secretary Liz Truss also warned the meeting that failure to deliver Brexit soon would usher in a Labour Government, leading to ‘a barren land ruled by Jeremy Corbyn with all of us here in a gulag’. One source said Mrs Leadsom – a leading Brexiteer and potential contender for the Tory leadership if Theresa May is forced out – ‘tore into people around the table’ over their conduct during the Brexit negotiations.

Another said she had given the impression she could even resign if the Government agrees a long Brexit delay next week. The source said: ‘The way she was talking, it sounded like that might be the final straw.’ Friends of Mrs Leadsom last night declined to comment on whether she was prepared to walk out over the issue. Mrs Leadsom made it to the runoff in the 2016 Tory leadership contest and is known to be canvassing support for a second bid if Mrs May falls by the wayside. Yesterday’s Cabinet meeting opened with a sombre discussion of the New Zealand terror atrocity and the potential risk of a far-Right attack in the UK. But tempers flared when the agenda turned to Brexit.

The PM started the discussion by stating that Commons Speaker John Bercow’s decision to ‘raise the bar’ for a third vote on her Brexit deal meant it could not now be held this week.

Mrs May warned that, following a vote in parliament last week, she would now have to seek a ‘longer’ delay to the UK’s departure date. She said she would try to obtain an escape clause that would allow the UK to leave this summer if parliament finally approves her deal.

The PM rounded on Mr Bercow, saying: ‘The Speaker has framed this debate as parliament versus the Government. But what it actually is now is parliament versus the people.’ And she said voters were increasingly viewing parliament as a ‘laughing stock’. One source said: ‘ The only thing agreed this morning was that everyone hates Bercow.’ Mrs May warned that a long delay would mean taking part in the European Parliament elections in May at a cost of £100million – almost three years after Britain voted to leave the EU. But she did not spell out exactly how many months a longer delay might last. One source said the date had been kept secret because of fears that it would immediately leak.

Last week, seven Cabinet ministers voted against any delay to Brexit. And yesterday a string of ministers spoke out against the idea of a longer delay.

Mrs Leadsom said it would be better to leave in the summer without a deal than allow Brexit to drag on indefinitely. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson were among the other ministers speaking out against a long delay.

One minister said: ‘Most of us were pushing for a very short delay. There was a general view a long delay would be a disaster. That’s where the PM was too – it is very obvious she wants the shortest possible delay to get a deal through.’