Brexit: There will be a state of emergency if we have no deal by February, says Dominic Grieve

'Ordinary life will grind to a halt' if there is no deal with Brussels, says leading Tory Brexit rebel

Britain will have to declare a “state of emergency” if there is no Brexit deal by the spring, Dominic Grieve has said.

The prominent Tory rebel delivered a stark warning over Britain's economic prospects, saying "ordinary life will grind to a halt" if the UK crashes out of the European Union without securing an agreement with Brussels.

It comes as the government was plunged into fresh Brexit turmoil when David Davis and Boris Johnson sensationally quit the cabinet in protest at Theresa May's new customs plan.

Their resignations sparked the departures of several other Eurosceptic MPs, putting Ms May under intense pressure from the Brexiteer wing to drop her Chequers agreement on future relations with the EU.

Speaking at a Brexit panel event, hosted by The Independent, Mr Grieve said: “I think we have to be sensible about this. Really, if by the end of February or early March, it is clear that there is no deal on anything, there will be a declaration of a state of emergency in this country.

“Actually, ordinary life will grind to a halt.

"That is the extent to which our lives are inter-meshed with the lives of our European partners and that is what will happen if there is no deal on anything.”

Some Brexiteer MPs have “abdicated” their responsibilities to the public and boast that they will do “absolutely nothing while we skated off the edge of the cliff into this major national crisis”, he said.

“That is the madness that has crept into some of the discourse in parliament,” Mr Grieve went on.

“Of course it is a low risk - because I would rather hope that our EU partners wouldn't wish to see this happen - but it is a risk and it is there and we can’t ignore it.”

It comes as backbench Tories opened a new Brexit front, as Jacob Rees-Mogg, who chairs the European Research Group (ERG) of Tory MPs, laid down four amendments to the government’s trade bill, which MPs could be asked to vote on next week.