Brexit: Liam Fox says no deal better than a 'betrayal' of voters by prolonging negotiations with EU

Brexiteer accuses the EU of putting 'political ideology' before economic prospects of citizens

A cabinet minister has said a no-deal Brexit would be better than prolonging talks with Brussels, a move he described as a "complete betrayal" of voters.

Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, said any attempt to extend the Article 50 process was unacceptable amid speculation Theresa May could be forced to lengthen the negotiations to prevent Britain crashing out without a deal.

The Brexiteer also accused the EU of putting "political ideology" before the economic prospects of ordinary people and warned that its uncompromising stance could force Britain to walk away.

His comments came after Michel Barnier, the European Commission's chief negotiator, poured cold water over Theresa May's new Brexit blueprint, by rejecting a central plank of her plans.

The Independent has launched its Final Say campaign to call for a public vote on the Brexit deal, which attracted more than 200,000 supporters in the first 24 hours.

Asked if the UK should extend the talks if no agreement has been reached by the official exit day in March, Dr Fox told Business Insider that Britain should "leave without a deal."

The Brexiteer MP said: "The public have told us, it wasn't a consultation, to leave the EU, and the public already wonders why it's going to take more than four years after the referendum for us to fully remove ourselves from the EU.

"To attempt to extend our membership even longer, many voters would regard as a complete betrayal by the political class, and I think they would be right."

Dr Fox has remained loyal to the prime minister following the turmoil over her Chequers compromise, which triggered the resignations of both Boris Johnson and David Davis from the government.

However he made it clear to Ms May that any attempt to extend the Article 50 process would be unacceptable for Eurosceptic Tories.

Influential backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg immediately backed his comments, saying: "Extending Article 50 is the definition of failure for the government."

Speaking after Mr Barnier dealt a critical blow to the prime minister's Brexit strategy, Dr Fox also warned that if the EU "keep saying no to everything, they will end up with no deal".

He said: "They simply don't want to make this particular method [the customs plan] work.

"So it's clear that it is possible, but it requires political will to do so. The question will be whether the EU27 leaders are willing to see the commission's political ideology put ahead of the economic well-being of the people of Europe.

"What the commission seems to be saying is look, there has to be Brexit on their terms, or no deal at all.

"Now, that may be in line with their own theological attachment to ever-closer union and EU treaties but it may have a large cost to EU member states, the member states who require jobs, prosperity, and trade, because they need to get elected, unlike the commission officials."

On Thursday, Mr Barnier said the EU could not agree to let another country collect European customs duties on its behalf – a key plank of Ms May's plan for the future relationship.

“The EU cannot and the EU will not delegate the application of its customs policy, of its rules, VAT and excise duty collections to a non-member who would not be subject to the EU’s governance structures,” Mr Barnier said, after meeting Brexit secretary Dominic Raab in Brussels.