Amber Rudd: MPs will block a no-deal Brexit and back Prime Minister’s withdrawal agreement

Amber Rudd, the new work and pensions secretary, has appeared to rule out a no-deal Brexit on the basis that the House of Commons will vote through the draft withdrawal agreement put forward by Prime Minister Theresa May.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the former home secretary said the house would stop a no-deal scenario. “There isn’t a majority in the House of Commons to allow that to take place,” she said.

“I think the likelihood is, despite what people say, that the withdrawal agreement will get through.”

If the agreement does not pass, “anything could happen,” she said. “The Brexiteers may lose their Brexit.”

Rudd, who was appointed work and pensions secretary last week after predecessor Esther McVey resigned in protest at the draft agreement, refused to back a second referendum, despite voting remain in 2016.

“I don't think we are looking at another referendum. I think people will take a careful look over the abyss – MPs of all parties – and consider whether they think it is in the best interests of the whole country,” she said.

The draft withdrawal deal was agreed by the Prime Minister and the EU last week, but its so-called customs backstop on the Irish border and £39m divorce bill have polarised opinion among MPs, with Brexit secretary Dominic Raab among those quitting the morning after it was shown to the cabinet.

Labour’s shadow chancellor John McDonnell today also said “an overwhelming majority [of MPs] oppose anything that smacks of being no deal”.

Speaking to Reuters, he added that there was no parliamentary majority for May’s deal either, with Labour having vowed to vote her plan down.

“We just can’t go on like this. We just cannot go on with this instability, uncertainty that there is in government, day by day and sometimes hour by hour,” he said.

May will meet EU officials today in an attempt to finalise the deal before a summit of European leaders on Sunday.