Ministers tell Theresa May to postpone her Brexit vote

Ministers are urging Theresa May to postpone next week’s crunch Brexit vote to allow more time to put together a package to sweeten the deal.

The Prime Minister is considering a range of measures designed to make the Irish ‘backstop’ more palatable to her mutinous backbenchers.

Proposals include placing a parliamentary ‘lock’ on the backstop, which would give MPs the final say over whether to enter an arrangement which critics fear could keep the UK trapped in the customs union indefinitely.

At least three ministers have appealed directly to Prime Minister Theresa May in an attempt to postpone next week’s Brexit deal vote in Parliament

Downing Street is also considering a new law that would guarantee there could be no divergence of rules between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK during any backstop period.

The measures could be included in a Government amendment to Tuesday’s Commons vote on Mrs May’s deal.

But some senior Tories believe she is running out of time to persuade Eurosceptic Tories and Democratic Unionists ahead of the vote.