Justice Secretary in threat to walk out if we face No Deal

DAVID Gauke yesterday warned he could quit if Theresa May tries to push for a no-deal Brexit.

The Justice Secretary said he ‘couldn’t support’ any attempt by the Prime Minister to leave the EU without a deal, and suggested other ministers would also resign.

His comments came ahead of a crunch Cabinet meeting tomorrow to discuss no-deal preparations.

Chancellor Philip Hammond is expected to open bidding between Government departments for a slice of £2billion to get them through the fallout from a no-deal departure.

Around £500million is expected to go to the Home Office, £25million into customs and £400million to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. In addition, £100million will go to the Department for International Trade to hire negotiators in case new trade deals are needed urgently.

But in an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Gauke said the economic damage of a no-deal Brexit would cause ‘real pain’ for Britons, and urged MPs to stop pursuing ‘fantasy options’ and back Mrs May’s withdrawal agreement.

The comments will be seen as a swipe at Cabinet ministers who have been pushing for a ‘managed no deal’, in which smaller side deals are made in areas such as transport.

Mr Gauke said: ‘I couldn’t support a conscious decision to crash out at the end of March and I don’t think there are many who could.’

He said it was not a decision the Prime Minister ‘can responsibly take’. He added: ‘I think at the moment there is a majority against everything in the House of Commons. I hope that over the next few weeks that will shift towards a majority in favour of the Prime Minister’s deal.’

Mr Gauke, who campaigned for Remain in the run-up to the referendum in 2016, has been tipped as a future chancellor.

Reports have also suggested he is among a group of Cabinet ministers who would back a switch away from Mrs May’s deal to a ‘Norwaystyle’ Brexit which would keep the UK in the single market and customs union.

But yesterday he admitted to ‘quite deep concerns’ about the such an option because it would mean free movement across the UK’s borders and continued contributions to the EU budget.