International trade secretary Liam Fox backs Theresa May’s Brexit deal

International trade secretary Liam Fox this morning backed Theresa May’s Brexit deal as the prime minister ruled out a plan B. 

Leading Brexiteer Fox said he believed members of the cabinet would back the deal, despite a deeply divided parliament.

Fox told the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme: “It is very difficult to get a deal that is going to appeal equally to those who are fervently in favour of remaining and those fervently in favour of leaving.

“I think the prime minister has been changing the public mood…members of parliament will have to make their own decisions for themselves but they’ll have to compare this particular deal against the alternatives.”

“Members of cabinet who don’t vote for the deal won’t be members of the cabinet” he added.

Fox’s support comes after May dismissed Labour’s call for a Norway-style agreement on the basis that it would see the UK remain in the European single market and would not end free movement of people.

She urged on MPs to consider the “jobs and livelihoods” when deciding how to vote on the Brexit deal.

The prime minister will head to Buenos Aires today for the two-day G20 summit, where she is expected to promote her Brexit agreement and Britain’s international role after it leaves the European Union in March next year.

“The focus of myself and the government is on the vote that is taking place on 11 December. We will be explaining to members of parliament why we believe that this is a good deal for the UK,” May told reporters on the plane to the G20 summit in Argentina when asked if she had a plan B, Reuters reported.

“I ask every member of parliament to think about delivering on the Brexit vote and doing it in a way that is in the national interest and doing it in a way that is in the interests of their constituents because it protects jobs and livelihoods.”