Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay held talks with pro-second referendum Labour MPs, officials admit

Labour MP Peter Kyle says Mr Barclay was ‘engaging fully’ with possibilities during 45-minute meeting in Downing Street

Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay has held talks with advocates of a second referendum, as they laid out their proposals should a “new direction” be needed in the coming days.

In a sign that Downing Street is taking the prospect of a fresh vote seriously, the Labour MP Peter Kyle said Mr Barclay was “engaging fully” with possibilities, but had remained “loyal” to government policy to oppose a second referendum at all costs.

Alongside his colleague Phil Wilson, Mr Kyle has outlined a plan to help the prime minister’s Brexit deal get through the Commons on the condition of it then being put to the country in a second referendum.

A government source confirmed the 45-minute meeting went ahead when asked by The Independent, but insisted Mr Barclay regularly meets with MPs from all political parties.

The discussions come as Westminster prepares for yet another week of political turmoil with MPs gearing up to vote on the prime minister’s Brexit deal.

On Friday, Ms May herself admitted: “Reject it and no one knows what will happen. We may not leave the EU for many months, we may leave without the protections that the deal provides. We may never leave at all.”

Details of the meeting emerged as the shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said on Sunday that he expected there would be an opportunity for MPs to vote on a fresh referendum in the days ahead – either through a Labour amendment, or one tabled by backbenchers.

But Sir Keir made clear this will not happen on Tuesday when MPs vote on the prime minister’s withdrawal agreement for a second time. “I think there is a growing feeling that this Tuesday should be a straight up-and-down vote on the deal,” he told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme.

Sir Keir continued: “I don’t know whether something dramatic will happen in the next 24 hours but unless it does, exactly the same deal is going to be put before parliament.”

“It doesn’t mean that a public vote is gone,” he added. “It doesn’t mean we won’t come to it. We will have to work with others. There is going to be plenty of opportunities for amendments.”

Mr Kyle, who revealed the meeting, told The Observer: “Clearly the Brexit secretary is fully engaged in the battle to deliver support for the vote on Tuesday.

“But that didn’t stop him from engaging fully with the possibilities our compromise offers. We didn’t enter the meeting with expectations of converting him to our cause but we hope that government now understands what our plan offers, should a new direction be demanded by parliament in the coming days.”