Jeremy Corbyn would find himself “alone and naked” in the Brexit negotiating chamber, Theresa May has suggested, as she tried to steer the electoral debate back onto who would make the strongest leader.

The Prime Minister said Mr Corbyn has “no plan” for how he would conduct the Brexit talks, which start just 11 days after the election, and that he would be a “weak leader making it up as he goes along”.

Mrs May used a campaign speech in Wolverhampton to attack the Labour leader’s readiness for office, saying: "I am ready to go. Jeremy Corbyn is not.”

It came amid reports that Mrs May’s advisers, including her election strategist Sir Lynton Crosby, have told her to refocus the campaign on the choice of leader to oversee Brexit, after several polls showed Labour narrowing the gap on the Conservatives to fewer than ten points.