Cabinet member Nicky Morgan has been slammed for admitting she would vote Remain in a second referendum, despite serving under Brexit hardliner Boris Johnson.
The culture secretary said she did not support holding another poll, but admitted she would vote to keep Britain in the EU if given the choice.
On the BBC’s Breakfast programme on Saturday, host Charlie Stayt asked Ms Morgan: “If it comes to a point where you are asked to vote again in a referendum, can you give me a very straight answer as to how you would vote?”
Ms Morgan, who backed Remain in 2016, replied instantly: "I would vote to remain."
Politicians and commentators immediately condemned the Loughborough MP as she continues to serve under Mr Johnson, who has insisted the UK will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without a deal.
Labour MP David Lammy was among those to seize on her remarks, tweeting: "Repeat after me. Nicky Morgan put her own career progression before her conscience, constituents and country."
"My instincts are that I was sorry that the Remain campaign didn't win in 2016 and that really I'm sorry that we've seen all the division and uncertainty over the last three-and-a-half years."
She said she would vote to stay in the EU "for the same reasons that I felt very firmly back in 2016 and I campaigned for Remain", which she said were both economic and geopolitical.
But Ms Morgan went on to insist that her views on the matter had "evolved" because she could now "see a way for the UK to leave the EU and to do it with a deal and to strike out in different ways in the rest of the world".
Justifying her decision to stand by the Cabinet’s commitment to leave the EU without a deal on October 31 if one is not reached by the deadline, Ms Morgan said: "I think generally in life when you're offered an opportunity to serve in the cabinet it's an element of public service.
"I think you should do what you can to accept that. I think the reason people ask these questions today is to misunderstand the nature of representative democracy and representation.
"There are always times when you're a minister or MP when you have your own personal view on something, but actually you have to take a broader view on what is right for the country."
