Welsh Brexiteer David Jones attacks PM on talks offer

Theresa May has failed to get MPs to support her Brexit deal

The Conservative Party would be put in "peril" if the prime minister relies on Labour MPs to pass her Brexit deal, former Brexit minister David Jones said.

Theresa May is to ask for another extension to the date the UK's exits the EU.

She wants to meet Jeremy Corbyn to agree a way forward.

Mr Jones, a member of the Brexiteer European Research Group (ERG), said he did not think the plan would work.

Theresa May made her announcement after a marathon cabinet meeting that lasted most of the day.

The PM said the process was "putting members of Parliament and everyone else under immense pressure and it is doing damage to our politics."

"So today I'm taking action to break the log jam," she said.

David Jones said the back-stop is still a "deal-breaker"

The UK is due to leave the EU on 12 April without a deal if Theresa May's withdrawal agreement is not agreed by the House of Commons.

Mr Jones, Clwyd West Conservative MP, said: "I don't think it'll work. The backstop is still a deal-breaker.

"Furthermore, if she is intending to rely on Labour votes and ride roughshod over the Conservative Party in Parliament, she is putting the future of the party in peril."

But Montgomeryshire Tory MP Glyn Davies said the approach was "sensible".

"Personally I would have preferred MPs to support the withdrawal agreement. But since MPs won't do that, I have to accept that we may have to accept something like membership of the customs union, if Labour will support that."

• Theresa May's statement in full

• Brexit jargon explained

The backstop is an insurance policy aimed at avoiding a hard Irish border, which critics worry could leave the UK following EU trade rules indefinitely without having a say in deciding them.

Alun Cairns, Welsh Secretary, told BBC Wales he fully agrees with the prime minister's strategy. He did not deny he argued against a long extension to Brexit at the cabinet meeting.

Jeremy Corbyn has been offered more talks on Brexit with the PM

Welsh First Minister and Welsh Labour leader Mark Drakeford said: "At last we see the PM attempting to reach across her red lines and seek a compromise.

"We've long said that there needs to be a stable, cross-party majority to take us forward. If only this had been done two years ago. We are fast running out of time and options."

'Begrudging'

Plaid Cymru Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts warned Labour to stick to its commitment for a new referendum or risk enabling Brexit.

Labour MPs had been whipped to support a motion on Monday night calling for a public vote to confirm any deal.

A total of 24 of the party's MPs voted it down. Welsh Labour deputy leader Carolyn Harris and Iswlyn MP Chris Evans abstained.

Mark Drakeford said a stable cross party majority is needed to take Brexit forward

Ms Saville Roberts said Labour's support for the referendum had been "begrudging and patchy".

"Labour must now stick to their commitments on a People's Vote or risk becoming the midwives of Brexit," she said.

Labour MP Owen Smith said: "The Prime Minister has finally acknowledged that a No Deal Brexit is a non-starter. Good. It always was."

He said it was "time to make the argument for a [People's Vote] on any deal the parties can agree".

Earlier on Tuesday, Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford has said he would back stopping Brexit if it was the only way to avoid leaving the European Union without a deal.

It also emerged that, with next week's Parliamentary recess cancelled, he will discuss the possibility of a recall of the Welsh Assembly if the UK is heading for a no-deal Brexit.