Cable: ‘One in five chance Brexit will not happen’

There is at least a 20 per cent chance that Brexit will not happen, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable has suggested.

The former Cabinet minister said there was a “distinct possibility” the UK could remain in the bloc even though the process that will lead to Brexit in March 2019 is under way.

Sir Vince acknowledged that there could be an “amicable divorce” with Brussels which would be acceptable to the public – but there was also the potential for a “terrible mess”.

He told Sky News’s Sunday with Niall Paterson the “sheer complexity, the practical difficulties, the fact the Government is internally divided” could all impact on the process.

“We may get to the middle of next year and find this is just a horrible mess and there will be a growing political mood in the country and in Parliament to find a way out,” he said.

“That’s why we think at the end of the day the public should have a choice as to whether they want to go ahead with Brexit when we’ve discovered what it’s about or whether they want an exit from Brexit.”