Senior Tories urge Rishi Sunak to ignore ‘shrill’ hardliners to get Brexit deal done

‘Allowing this to drag on, unresolved, shows how increasingly out of touch we look on both sides in the Irish Sea,’ Tobias Ellwood says

Senior Conservatives have urged Rishi Sunak to ignore “shrill” hardliners over new post-Brexit arrangements with the European Union, warning that failure to reach a deal risks the party's slim election chances.

As anger mounts among Brexiteers over a possible deal, the prime minister has been told that unhappy ministers could resign.

However, senior Tories urged Mr Sunak to call their bluff. Health minister Maria Caulfield, who herself quit Theresa May's frontbench over her Brexit plan, urged Tory MPs to “support the prime minister”.