PM’s Brexit deal battered for 153 minutes by MPs
LONELY Theresa May faced a bruising onslaught from Tory former Cabinet ministers last night as her doomed Brexit pact was blasted in the Commons.
Ex-Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon stuck the knife in with a harsh analysis of it.
It came as the PM confirmed the crunch vote on her withdrawal agreement will take place on December 11, just two days before she is due back in Brussels for a summit.
She faces defeat as Tory rebels are poised to line up with Labour, the DUP, the Lib Dems and others to derail her deal.
Her deputy David Lidington desperately tried to win over Opposition MPs while she hosted business leaders in No10.
She heads to mid-Wales and Belfast today on a whistle-stop tour trying to sell her deal to the public. But she was left in no doubt as to the scale of opposition among MPs as she endured 153 minutes of questions last night.
Sir Michael asked if the country was “not being asked to take a huge gamble?”
Boris Johnson said “half the Cabinet” and Mrs May were giving conflicting views, adding: “They can’t both be right.”
Ex-defence minister Mark Francois urged the PM to relent, warning the Commons had “never, ever surrendered to anybody”.
If MPs reject Mrs May’s plan, calls for an election and another EU referendum would mount and she could be forced to quit.
Last night Donald Trump said in Washington the agreement meant the UK might not be able to trade with the US, adding: “I don’t think they want that at all.”