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A group of Tory hard Brexiteers have reportedly given themselves a very odd nickname.

The hardcore group of powerful Tories which includes Iain Duncan Smith, Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg are understood to have called themselves Grand Wizards.

The term was what the leaders of the racist Ku Klux Klan called during the Reconstruction era between 1865 and 1869.

The BBC's Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg tweeted revealing the group had given themselves the strange name.

She tweeted: "2. The 'Grand Wizards' (the new name for the Chequer's daytrippers apparently) also had another meeting this morning, were they discussed again whether they could get on board to back PM's deal and there was no firm conclusion".

Twitter users were quick to point out the damaging connotations of the term.

Many reacted with disbelief that the senior Tories did not know of the name's provenance.

A number of hardline Brexiteers were invited to meet Theresa May at Chequers as she desperately attempted to convince them to back her deal.

(Image: Reuters)

Labour MP Jess Phillips reacted with outrage to the alleged nickname.

She said: "This is unbelievable yet so very believable. The group think of this proves exactly why we criticised the fact they were all white men. I'm astonished but no longer am I surprised. These people are disgraceful."

Later on Laura Kuenssberg tweeted: "Just catching up on timeline, for avoidance of doubt, couple of insiders told me using the nickname informally, no intended connection to anything else."