Delaying Brexit by a year is preferable to Theresa May’s “toxic” withdrawal agreement, according to a senior figure in the Democratic Unionist Party.
Referring to the twice-rejected UK-EU agreement as a “prison” for the UK, Sammy Wilson, the DUP’s Brexit spokesperson, reiterated that his party will not vote for an “unamended, or unchanged version”.
It is another blow for the prime minister, who this week is considering whether to bring her deal to MPs for a third time.
Earlier on Tuesday, the leading Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg indicated he may reluctantly support Ms May’s deal, as it was “better than not leaving at all”.
But in a warning to Brexiteers, Mr Wilson said that if the deal goes through, the UK will have lost its right to leave the EU. “That is not Brexit,” he wrote in The Daily Telegraph.
He continued: “Even if we are forced into a one-year extension, we at least would have a say on the things which affect us during that time and would have the right to unilaterally decide to leave at the end of that one-year period through the simple decision of not applying for a further extension.
“Surely this is a better strategy than volunteering to be locked into the prison of the withdrawal deal with the cell door key in the pocket of Michel Barnier?”
The remarks from Mr Wilson also come as Ms May prepares to address the 1922 Committee of Conservative MPs on Wednesday, as she battles to save her deal.
Speaking about the deal on his ConservativeHome podcast, Mr Rees-Mogg, the chair of the European Research Group of hardline Brexiteers, said: “The prime minister will not deliver a no-deal Brexit.
Asked if that meant the options were now Ms May’s deal or potentially no Brexit, he said: “That I think, becomes the choice eventually.
“Whether we are there yet is another matter, but I have always thought that no deal is better than Ms May’s deal, but Ms May’s deal is better than not leaving at all.”
Echoing his comments, the Tory MP Michael Fabricant added: “This is the dreadful conclusion I have come to too – and said so at the ERG. A new PM can then negotiate a better and more distanced relationship with the EU after Brexit.”
