Theresa May vows to see Brexit plan through on day of turmoil

Theresa May pleaded with her party not to plunge Britain into “deep and grave uncertainty” by rejecting her Brexit deal, as she fought to shore up her authority after a bruising day of resignations and backbench mutiny. At a sombre press conference following a dramatic day of turmoil, the prime minister said she believed “with every fibre of my being” that the 585-page agreement unveiled on Wednesday night was “the right one for our country and all our people”. “If we do not move forward with that agreement, nobody can know for sure the consequences that will follow. It would be to take a path of deep and grave uncertainty when the British people just want us to get on with it,” she said. Her defiant Downing Street statement came after an extraordinary 24 hours in Westminster, which included the resignations of two Brexit-leaning cabinet ministers – Dominic Raab, the Brexit secretary, and Esther McVey, the work and pensions secretary – and a string of other junior appointees. The future of several other cabinet ministers remains in doubt. Environment secretary Michael Gove was offered but turned down the role of Brexit secretary vacated by Raab. It is understood Gove sought to insist on a change of Brexit strategy, which May’s robust statement gave little indication she could accept. It was unclear on Thursday night whether he could remain in his post having apparently questioned such a central plank of the prime minister’s policy.