Theresa May said 'the people voted for pain' when confronted on no-deal, it has been claimed.
Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable says she made the extraordinary comment during a meeting of party leaders on Wednesday night.
Sir Vince claimed the Prime Minister was "doubling down on no-deal" ahead of her crunch summit in Brussels yesterday.
He told Sky News: “She was asked at the meeting about the economic pain that would inflicted on millions of British people and the answer was 'people voted for pain'
"That was the conclusion I drew and I’m pretty certain she now believes it”
Brexit minister suggests MPs will get FREE VOTE on the way out of the crisis
Later the same night, Mrs May gave a broadcast speech in which she blamed MPs for her failure to secure an acceptable Brexit deal.
Last night in Brussels, the Prime Minister rowed back on her attack, without actually saying sorry.
The Prime Minister stopped short of apologising for the tone of her televised address from Downing Street on Wednesday but moved to try to stem criticism.
Referring to the TV speech, Mrs May said: "I expressed my frustrations and I know that MPs are frustrated too - they have difficult jobs to do.
"I hope we can all agree that we are now at the moment of decision and I will make every effort to make sure we can leave with a deal and move our country forward."
