Theresa May warns Brexit must not be frustrated amid Cabinet mutiny over no deal

Theresa May has said the government must maintain an "absolute focus" of delivering Brexit after senior Cabinet ministers warned they could vote to delay article 50 to thwart the chance of leaving without a deal.

The Prime Minister told Tory party activists over the weekend that government "must not, and I will not, frustrate what was the largest democratic exercise in this country's history".

"In the very final stages of this process, the worst thing we could do is lose our focus."

May's latest plea comes just days after home secretary Amber Rudd, justice secretary David Gauke and business secretary Greg Clark told the Daily Mail that they would defy the Prime Minister and vote to extend article 50 – the mechanism by which the UK leaves the EU – if no deal is agreed.

“It would be better to seek to extend article 50 and delay our date of departure rather than crash out of the European Union on 29 March,” they wrote.

Slapping down the rebels, May said: "No-one gets more frustrated than I do when people vote against the whip, particularly given the tight parliamentary arithmetic that we face.

"But we are not a party of purges and retribution. We called a referendum and let people express their views – so we should not be seeking to deselect any of our MPs because of their views on Brexit.

"Our party is rightly a broad church – on that and other issues."

Former work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith said the decision of the three ministers in question – work and pensions secretary Amber Rudd, justice secretary David Gauke and business secretary Greg Clark – to publicly state that they would vote for an amendment to delay article 50 was a "mistake on their part".

When asked by Sky News whether they should quit, he said: "That's a decision for them and Number 10. They are doing the Prime Minister no good at all by being so opposed to government policy."

Duncan-Smith's views were echoed by international trade secretary Liam Fox, who told the Sunday Telegraph that the UK would lose its "single strongest card" the negotiations with the EU if MPs decide to support an amendment by Labour MP Yvette Cooper and Tory MP Sir Oliver Letwin, which would allow parliament to delay Brexit if a deal is not agreed with the EU by mid March.

"Taking no-deal off the table would be to remove the single strongest card that we have in our negotiation with the EU itself and would therefore fundamentally weaken our position," he said. "While [I] do not want to see a no-deal scenario, the risk of failing to deliver on Brexit itself is too great to be contemplated."

Meanwhile, environment secretary Michael Gove struck a more conciliatory tone, telling the BBC it would be "completely inappropriate given the nature of the conversation the country is having to "strike macho postures when what we really need is unity".

"I recognise that Amber, Greg and David have genuine concerns about a no-deal outcome," he said. "So do I. I think the most important thing we can do to prevent that is to get behind the Prime Minister's efforts to secure a good deal."

"I think the motion that has been out before is …is a mistake and I would urge colleagues not to vote for it. It's not just about an extension to article 50 it's about taking power away from the government.

"All the Cooper amendment does is to seek to extend not to advance our effective moment towards a deal."

Today May will head to Egypt for the EU summit with the League of Arab States in Sharm el-Sheikh to seek approval of her Brexit plan B. However, an EU official said on Friday that there "will be no deal in the desert".

May will then head back to the Commons on Tuesday to update MPs on her Brexit plans, with a vote planned for the following day.