Theresa May has been forced to defend her Brexit plan to MPs just moments after cabinet ministers Dominic Raab and Esther McVey dealt her authority a major blow by resigning from the government.

The prime minister secured the uneasy support of her cabinet for the draft deal with Brussels after a stormy five-hour meeting on Wednesday night.

Ms May also faces the growing prospect of a vote of no confidence in her leadership of the Conservative Party, as MPs, including Jacob Rees-Mogg, began publishing their letters sent to the party's 1922 committee - calling for the PM to step down.