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Jeremy Corbyn has called for a general election after Theresa May promised to quit in order to get Brexiteer Tories to back her deal.

The Prime Minister told backbench Tory MPs she would stand down after the first phase of negotiations was completed.

Remainers fear that a hard Brexiteer will take over from the PM and decide the UK's future relationship with the EU.

The PM's offer to step down after her Withdrawal Agreement is passed came in response to calls from a number of her backbenchers for her to name the date of her departure in return for their help in pushing the deal through Parliament.

Jeremy Corbyn said: "Theresa May ’s pledge to Tory MPs to stand down if they vote for her deal shows once and for all that her chaotic Brexit negotiations have been about party management, not principles or the public interest.

"A change of government can't be a Tory stitch-up, the people must decide," he said.

Labour have been calling for a general election as a way out of the Brexit impasse.

But they failed to win a vote of no confidence in January.

The Prime Minister's bombshell statement means a Tory leadership election will kick off on May 22 if her plan finally passes - with sources warning it could be even sooner.

That would install a new Prime Minister in the summer.

(Image: Wiktor Szymanowicz / Barcroft Images)

After surviving a snap election mauling, a no confidence vote, and the greatest defeat in Parliament's history, the Prime Minister finally bowed to months of pressure in a statement to Tory MPs tonight.

Sources confirmed Downing Street's plan is to kick off a leadership contest on May 22, which is the delayed date of Brexit if Mrs May's plan passes this week.