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Britain will quit the EU even if MPs vote down the Brexit deal promised by Theresa May, the Government insisted today.

Brexit minister David Davis told MPs that votes in the Commons and Lords, promised in Mrs May’s speech, would be on the deal she secures and not on Brexit itself.

“The referendum last year set in motion a circumstance where the UK is going to leave the European Union, and it won’t change that.”

The Pound surged further as Mr Davis fielded MPs’ questions on the Brexit plan in the Commons. Sterling’s rise paused at $1.23 soon after Mrs May’s speech finished, but jumped again to almost $1.24 as the Brexit Secretary clarified and confirmed her plans.

Mr Davis told MPs that the Prime Minister’s speech met his promise last year that the Government would bring forward a Brexit “plan”. Asked if there would be more details, he replied that he had promised a plan as soon as possible “and that’s what we’ve done”.

His answer suggested that there would be no more details than those given in today’s speech. No 10 sources also said that there would be no further revelations. Demands for a White Paper from the cross-party House of Commons Exiting the EU Committee were firmly rejected.

Lib Dem leader Tim Farron repeated his call for a second referendum, saying a vote in parliament would not be enough. It would be an “outrage” if voters were denied the final say, he claimed.

Labour’s Keir Starmer protested that Mrs May had snubbed parliament by giving her speech outside the Commons. But Cabinet minister Mr Davis retorted that MPs “didn’t have the opportunity of interrogating Tony Blair at all after he’d appeared on TV and radio” when Labour was in power.