Rebels warn May of high-risk strategy

Theresa May is pursuing a “high-risk strategy” by seeking to deny MPs the chance to block a no-deal Brexit, leading pro-EU Conservatives have warned.

The Government provoked the anger of Tory Remainers on Thursday with proposals which they say fall well short of the truly meaningful vote they are seeking on the way forward if parliament rejects the agreement obtained by Mrs May with Brussels or if no deal is reached by January 21.

Conservative MPs are now accusing other members of Mrs May’s Government of “hijacking” the process to force the Prime Minister to backtrack at the last minute on a pledge to ensure their concerns were addressed.

“The move was branded a very serious betrayal”

And after successfully averting rebellion earlier this week, Mrs May is now facing the prospect of defeat when the issue returns to the Commons next Wednesday.

Former attorney general Dominic Grieve believed an amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill which the rebels could back had been agreed with the Government before he travelled to Caernarfon to take part in BBC1’s Question Time on Thursday.

But he branded the amendment finally published by DExEU hours later “unacceptable”, because it offered MPs a “meaningless” vote in the case of a no-deal Brexit, allowing them to note the situation but not to determine what should happen next.

The move was branded a “very serious betrayal” by former minister Anna Soubry and “sneaky” by chairwoman of the Commons Health