Brexit: Welsh Tory MPs Jones and Davies say May must go

David Jones and David Davies were leading pro-Brexit voices in the 2016 referendum campaign

Two Welsh Conservative MPs have said Theresa May should go now, after the EU granted her a six month Brexit delay.

The new 31 October deadline avoids the UK leaving the EU without a deal on Friday, as MPs remain deadlocked.

Monmouth MP and Brexiteer David Davies said the prime minister should go as "she has failed", but the whole cabinet was responsible for that failure.

Ex-Brexit minister and Clwyd West MP David Jones said "now is the time where we need to see a fresh face".

On Wednesday, Mr Jones refused to rule out voting for a different party if European elections are held.

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Tory MPs moved against Mrs May in December, and under party rules she cannot be challenged again until the end of this year.

Last month she promised to quit if Conservative MPs backed her withdrawal deal, but it was rejected again by an overwhelming majority in the Commons despite her pledge.

Mrs May had wanted a shorter delay than the one EU leaders have given her, but has said the UK still aims to leave the EU as soon as possible.

But Mr Davies told BBC Radio Cymru's Post Cyntaf programme the UK needed a prime minister "ready to show leadership".

"I don't think Theresa May should carry on now, the time has come for Theresa May to go, she has failed," he said.

"It's not her fault, the fault is with the whole cabinet, we have to have somebody else. Theresa May to go."

He suggested current Home Secretary Sajid Javid might be a good replacement.

Mr Jones said "now is the time where we need to see a fresh face" at the top and a "change of leadership in the Conservative Party would reset the position" on Brexit.

A new leader, he argued, could negotiate with the EU "with a new agenda" and "make clear that that person would be willing to leave the European Union without an agreement if necessary".

"That's something that the current prime minister has never been willing to do but I think that a tougher approach is called for."

But Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns blamed Brexit uncertainty on those who voted against the government's withdrawal agreement.

"I think it's incumbent on MPs to recognise the outcome of the referendum but do so in a smooth and orderly way," he said.

Mr Cairns added that he would be working hard to get a deal for Mrs May so she "could leave at her own time, on her own terms".

First Minister Mark Drakeford had wanted the assembly recalled if there was no deal

Welcoming the Brexit delay, Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford said it must not be seen as an "opportunity for any of the Westminster parties to indulge in further in-fighting and brinkmanship".

In a written statement, he warned such behaviour would "only further erode public trust in democratic politics which is already at a dangerously low level".

Mr Drakeford urged both "government and the opposition to step up the intensity of their negotiations in order to find a way forward which, in line with the established position adopted by the National Assembly, provides sufficient reassurance that the future relationship with the EU will safeguard the interests of people in Wales and across the UK".

Plaid Cymru Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts repeated the party's call for another referendum on EU membership.

"We have consistently called for a longer extension for a purpose - to allow for a democratic conversation about our future in Europe followed by a People's Vote with Remain on the ballot," she said.