Brexit: Former Tory minister joins calls for public to be given final say on deal amid 'gridlock in parliament'

Guto Bebb says it would be 'undemocratic' not to have referendum on any deal Theresa May negotiates with Brussels

A Conservative MP who resigned as a government minister in July has joined calls for the public to be given a final say on Brexit.

Guto Bebb stepped down as a defence minister in order to vote against the government in key votes on Britain’s future relationship with the EU.

As Theresa May struggles to convince her MPs to back her strategy, and amid growing support for a second vote, Mr Bebb said a public poll on any final Brexit deal was the only way to resolve “gridlock” in parliament.

He joins a number of other Tory MPs who have already called for a final say vote, including former ministers Anna Soubry, Phillip Lee and Justine Greening.

The Independent’s campaign in support of a Final Say on Brexit has now been backed by more than 770,000 people.

Mr Bebb told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “It’s very clear from my perspective that there’s no support for any particular means of doing Brexit in parliament. I think we are looking at gridlock in parliament.

“I think it’s reached the point where we need to allow the people who decided to leave the European Union to actually decide whether they are happy with the deal the prime minister secures, whether that deal secures the support of parliament or not.”

Suggesting it would be “undemocratic” not to give the public another say on Brexit, he suggested more Tory MPs were coming round to the idea of a people’s vote.

“Increasingly there is a view that the people who made the decision to leave the European Union, the people of this country, have the right to express a view on any agreement – or no agreement if it is no agreement – before we actually pull the plug,” he said.

Mr Bebb is expected to tell a People’s Vote rally in Cardiff on Saturday that the government’s Brexit plans “could not be further from what was promised”.

Speaking alongside Labour MPs Owen Smith and Stephen Doughty, he will say: “I voted Remain but I accepted that the country voted differently. As such, I supported the prime minister as a whip and minister for over two years. However, the Brexit that is being delivered today could not be further from what was promised.

“With the hardline Brexiters threatening to vote down any deal, and a deal is crucial for jobs and business, we now face gridlock in parliament, and the growing risk of a disastrous no-deal Brexit.”

Mr Bebb will say he resigned from government because he could not vote for amendments tabled by Tory Brexiteers, which he called “a deliberate attempt to undermine the prime minister and our negotiations with the EU”.

He is expected to say: “Brexit is a big deal, but it’s not yet a done deal. And the path we take now will affect the future of our country for generations to come.

“That’s why it’s not good enough for ministers to decide something behind closed doors, seemingly caring more about the ideological whims of ‘no-deal’ Brexit advocates than the concerns of employers and workers.”

Ms May has repeatedly ruled out the prospect of another Brexit vote.

Earlier this week she said: “In the summer of 2016, millions came out to have their say. In many cases, for the first time in decades, they trusted that their vote would count; that after years of feeling ignored by politics, their voices would be heard.

“To ask the question all over again would be a gross betrayal of our democracy – and a betrayal of that trust.”