Theresa May is resistant to an election but Whitehall is preparing for one

A defence minister has become the first member of Theresa May’s government to break ranks and publicly urge her to delay Brexit if no deal can be reached.

As Whitehall stepped up preparations for a possible snap election, Tobias Ellwood argued that extending Article 50 would be preferable to Britain leaving the European Union on March 29 without a deal.

Leaving with no agreement would “be an act of self harm with profound economic, security and reputational, consequences for the UK at the very time threats are increasing and diversifying,” he told The Times.

If contingency planning for a no-deal became the government’s central mission, “it means we’ve failed to secure any parliamentary consensus and deliberately dismissed seeking additional time by extending Article 50,”