Dominic Raab insists he still backs May – but refuses to rule out running for Tory leadership

Former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab had said he would back Theresa May in a potential leadership challenge despite resigning over her draft withdrawal agreement.

Raab insisted he still supports May and would back her in any potential leadership challenge against her. "I will support this Prime Minister and I want her to get this right," he said.

However, Raab – who has been billed as a potential leadership contender alongside Boris Johnson – refused to rule out running for the Tory leadership.

Asked by the BBC whether he would stand in a Tory leadership contest, he said: "I'm not going to get sucked into that."

He said he had not supported anyone who had submitted a letter of no confidence in May to Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 committee, calling such a move a "total distraction".  But he admitted he thought her deal would not get through parliament as it stands and would vote it down. "We need to change course," he said.

He accused the EU of "blackmail" and said the "government as a whole" displayed a lack of resolve and political will in the negotiations.

He said: "I do think we are being bullied, I do think we are being subjected to what is pretty close to blackmail frankly.

"I do think there is a point at which – we probably should have done it before – were we just to say 'I'm sorry this is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, we cannot accept those dictated terms'."

Around 24 MPs are understood to have submitted letters of no confidence in May, including former Tory mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith, veteran Eurosceptic Bill Cash and influential backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Meanwhile, the Brexit-supporting European Research Group, chaired by Rees-Mogg, has published a seven-page takedown of May's withdrawal agreement, in which it said the UK should aim to strike a "Super Canada trade agreement" which would not involve being in the single market or customs union and would not leave the UK subject to the authority of the European Court of Justice.