Senior Tory MP urges Theresa May to ignore ‘right wing nationalists’ in the party

Grandee tells prime minister she should instead seek to convince Labour backbenchers to back her Brexit deal

A veteran Conservative MP has told Theresa May to ignore "right-wing nationalists" in the Tory party as she seeks to negotiate a Brexit deal.

Ken Clarke, a former chancellor, said the prime minister should instead seek to secure the support of Labour backbenchers to get her eventual deal through Parliament.

He also criticised "Bennites" on the Labour frontbench and told Ms May to act "courageously" by ignoring Brexiteer MPs.

His warning comes amid mounting pressure on the prime minister from her own backbenches.

Eurosceptic Tories insist they will vote down any proposals that could keep the UK in the customs union, while pro-EU MPs continue to demand she soften her stance in order to secure a deal.

Increasing numbers of MPs are also backing calls for the public to be given a Final Say vote on whatever deal she brings back from Brussels.

Speaking during PMQs, Mr Clarke said Ms May should recognise that "hardline Eurosceptics" were "a minority" in Parliament and that she will need to work across party lines to win support for her deal.

He said: "It's obvious that the biggest task facing the prime minister this winter is firstly to obtain a compromise agreement with the 27 other European governments on the terms of our withdrawal, and then to win the approval of a majority in his House for that same agreement, or something like it, in a meaningful vote on the terms of our departure.

"The maths makes it obvious that majority can only be obtained if the agreement retains the support of the pro-European Conservative backbenchers in this House and also wins the support of a significant number of pro-European Labour backbenchers on the other side of the House."

He said this would "reveal that the hardline Eurosceptic views of the Bennites on the Labour frontbench and the right-wing nationalists in our party are a minority in this Parliament," and urged the prime minister to act "courageously" on that basis.

In response, Ms May said she hoped "everybody across this whole House will put the national interest first" when voting on the final Brexit deal, and urged MPs to remember "it is our duty to leave" in order to respect the result of the 2016 referendum.

With ongoing questions over how Ms May will secure parliamentary approval for her proposed deal, reports suggest Tory whips are holding secret conversations with Labour backbenchers in a bid to secure their support.

However, the prime minister will also need to win over the DUP, which has made clear it will not accept any deal that introduces new customs or regulatory checks between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.