Conservative MP mocked after saying Britain must 'go down fighting' in Brexit negotiations

Fellow Tory MP describes Andrea Jenkyns tub-thumping tweet as 'quite extraordinary'

(PA)

A Conservative MP has prompted widespread derision for declaring Britain should “go down fighting” rather than “surrendering to EU demands”.

Andrea Jenkyns, a prominent backbench Brexiteer, tweeted the remarks on Sunday evening as rumours about a Brexit deal being reached swept Westminster.

The Morley and Outwood MP wrote: “It is better to go down fighting and honouring the democratic decision of our British people.

"Then to be long remembered for waving a white flag and surrendering to EU demands. All Brexiteers in Gov and on the backbenches its time to #StandUp4Brexit and finally #ChuckChequers."

The tweet provoked immediate for appearing to concede the no-deal Brexit favoured by some hardline pro-Leave figures would amount to a defeat for Britain.

Even some of Ms Jenkyns’ fellow Tories joined in the ridicule. The Conservative MEP Sajjad Karim tweeted in reply: “’Go down fighting’? Really? That is all you have left to offer by way of public service to the UK?

“We are a pragmatic family of nations who should be leading in our continent through the EU, projecting our strengths on a global stage and winning – not going down with a whimper.”

Fellow Tory Remainer, Anna Soubry, noted that she could not even read Ms Jenkyn’s fiery message because she had been blocked on Twitter by her parliamentary colleague.

Once Mr Karim sent her a screenshot of Ms Jenkyns’ tweet, Ms Soubry simply replied: “Quite extraordinary.”

The deputy leader of the Labour Party, Tom Watson, also got in on the act, tweeting: “This MP’s shallow analysis shows how ignorance is holding the PM to ransom. I’ve never been so worried for our country.”

The comedian Chris Addison mocked Ms Jenkyns’ bravado by offering a ‘translation’ of her tweet: “I would rather cause economic misery to my constituents and the rest of the country I profess to care for for at least a generation than admit a horrific error and salvage the situation. And I will talk about it in military terms to try to make it sound less like it’s my fault.

Several other tweeters responded to the MP’s militaristic metaphor with a litany of Blackadder Goes Forth memes.

One popular image shared online showed the blustering and idiotic General Melchett – played by Stephen Fry in the TV comedy – alongside one of his famous lines from the series: “If nothing else works, a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through.”

Another tweeter replied with an image of the Blackadder cast about to charge into no-mans land, with the caption “Yes Sir. Over the top it is Sir”.

Ms Jenkyns resigned her junior government post as a parliamentary private secretary in May, saying that she wanted to focus on being a “robust voice for Brexit”.

She famously defeated Ed Balls at the 2015 election to win her seat in parliament and hit the headlines in January when she revealed that she and her fellow Tory MP husband Jack Lopresti jokingly nicknamed their son ‘Brexit’ because he was born on the day the government triggered Article 50 in March 2017.