Theresa May moves away from ‘no deal is better than a bad deal’ Brexit pledge

Theresa May said she was talking in the “abstract” when she claimed “no deal is better than a bad deal” during a grilling over the Brexit stalemate.

Appearing before parliament’s powerful Liaison Committee of leading MPs, the Prime Minister repeatedly refused to say whether she would back the UK leaving the EU without an agreement if the deadlock in parliament continued.

May argued MPs would prevent a ‘no deal’ outcome as she clashed with Tory Brexiters over their repeated refusal to vote for her withdrawal agreement,

The PM also crossed swords with Labour’s Yvette Cooper, who accused May of “stubbornness” over her refusal to set out any compromises over her post Brexit-customs policy.

Asked by Tory veteran Sir Bernard Jenkin if she stood by her claims that no deal was better than a deal – first flagged up by the Prime Minister in a speech January 2017 – May said: “I stand by the references I have made in the past that no deal is better than a bad deal but I actually happen to think we have a good deal.

“When I first made that reference I was talking in the abstract, it was in Lancaster House, we now are no longer talking in the abstract, we are talking against the background of a negotiated deal, hard fought, which I believe is a good deal for the United Kingdom.”

The government is currently holding talks with Labour in a bid to fashion a Brexit plan which command the support of the House of Commons.

Jeremy Corbyn has called for the UK to enter a customs union with the EU after Brexit, whereas May wants the UK to operate an independent trade policy.

Cooper, chair of the Home Affairs select committee, repeatedly asked May for examples of where she had given ground in the talks in order to facilitate a breakthrough.

“Your version of compromise is telling people you were right all along,” Cooper said, later adding: “Resilience is a strength but stubbornness is a weakness.”

May insisted the government and Labour were making progress, saying there was “a greater commonality in terms of some of the benefits of the customs union” than it initially appeared.