David Gauke could be the latest cabinet minister to quit Theresa May's government over Brexit as the UK faces leaving the European Union without a deal.

The Justice Secretary said he would find it "very difficult" to remain in cabinet after the prime minister said a no-deal Brexit is a possible outcome if her plan is rejected by MPs in January's Commons showdown.

He said: "I think making a conscious decision to proceed with no deal would not be the responsible course of action."

Mr Gauke added he would be "very surprised if the prime minister went down that route".

Asked if he could remain in the cabinet if that became the government's policy, he told the BBC's Political Thinking with Nick Robinson podcast: "I think it would be very difficult for me in those circumstances.


Image: Theresa May is battling to maintain cabinet discipline

"I am conscious that there is a risk of an accidental no deal... Although parliament clearly doesn't want no deal, it's not clear that there is a majority for a specific course of action to stop no deal.

"The best way of stopping no deal is to back the prime minister's deal in my view.

"So I think it would be very difficult and I think if it came down to the government saying consciously, 'well, we'll just have to do that', I don't think there would be a lot of support for it."

May's cabinet clash on whether there should be a second referendum

Mrs May is battling to maintain cabinet discipline as senior ministers set out rival plans for dealing with the potential rejection of her Brexit plan.

Debate on the agreement will kick off on Wednesday 9 January - parliament's second day back after the Christmas break.

Mr Gauke is rumoured to be one of a group of senior ministers who would quit the cabinet if the UK was heading to a no-deal Brexit.

Cabinet ministers are already setting out rival alternatives if the prime minister's deal is rejected.

Image: Andrea Leadsom said a 'managed no-deal' Brexit was a possibility

Commons leader Andrea Leadsom said a "managed no-deal" Brexit was a possibility, while Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd acknowledged there was a "plausible argument" for a second referendum.

But at a press conference on Thursday, Mrs May insisted the cabinet was focused on the deal.

She said: "Everybody is very clear that not only what government policy is but what we are all individually and collectively focused on is working to ensure that that deal is able to be agreed by and go through a meaningful vote in the House of Commons."

Mr Gauke made his opposition to a no-deal Brexit - even a "managed" one - clear at the most recent cabinet meeting.

He told ministers it was "not a viable option" and "the responsibility of cabinet ministers is not to propagate unicorns but to slay them".

On Wednesday, Mr Gauke published a photo of himself holding a unicorn, saying it was an "unexpected Christmas gift".