Ministers could resign to stop no-deal, says Grieve

‘A dozen or more’ may go, including ‘up to half a dozen’ from the Cabinet

A dozen or more government ministers could quit by the end of the month if Theresa May refuses to extend the Brexit negotiating period beyond March 29, a leading Tory opponent of EU withdrawal has said.

Former attorney general Dominic Grieve said that the next round of Brexit votes on February 27 would be a “high noon” moment when resignations on this scale – which he said could include six Cabinet members – might bring Mrs May’s government down.

He was speaking as Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt made clear his unwillingness to accept a no-deal departure, telling Brexiteers in a tweet: “We are not leaving without a deal. If you want to leave, you’d better agree one. In the next fortnight would help.”

Angry Tory loyalists have turned on the party’s Brexiteers after Mrs May’s plans suffered another humiliating Commons defeat on Thursday.

Business minister Richard Harrington accused the European Research Group (ERG), led by Jacob Rees-Mogg, of “treachery”.

Defence minister Tobias Ellwood accused the ERG of acting as “a party within a party” and described their behaviour as “provocative”.

Meanwhile, Margot James became the latest minister to rule out remaining in the government if it allowed a no-deal Brexit, the digital minister telling Channel 4 News: “I could not be part of a government that allowed this country to leave the European Union without a deal.”

Downing Street insisted the prime minister would continue with her negotiating strategy, with ministers dismissing Thursday’s vote as no more than a “hiccup”.

Number 10 said Mrs May spoke to the Polish president Mateusz Morawiecki, the Estonian prime minister Juri Ratas and the Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite yesterday afternoon.

Mr Grieve said the ERG “seem to be completely cavalier about the risks that the country might run if we leave with no deal”, something which he said the “overwhelming” majority of MPs were not prepared to accept.

He told Today that he understood a number of ministers had already told Mrs May that if she was unable to secure a Withdrawal Agreement which could command the support of the Commons, she should extend the two-year Article 50 negotiating period.

If she refused, he said “a dozen or even more” ministers may resign, including “up to half a dozen” from the Cabinet.

Asked if this could bring down the government, he said: “Yes it could, and this isn’t a desirable outcome.”