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Boris Johnson has signalled he could back the Prime Minister's Brexit deal, but only if his preferred "Canada-style deal" on a future trading relationship with the EU is realised.

Speaking at a Telegraph event on Tuesday, the former Foreign Secretary said he was "not there yet" on backing Theresa May's controversial deal but warned that Brexit may not happen if it is defeated again.

"If we vote it down again there is an appreciable and growing sense that we will not leave at all. That is the risk," journalists at the event quoted him as saying.

It comes as the Prime Minister is battling to secure backing for her Brexit deal before the end of the week.

While Jacob Rees-Mogg has made a U-turn on Brexit and tonight urged hardline Eurosceptics to back the deal after MPs dramatically voted to seize control of the process of leaving the European Union on Monday.

Writing in the Daily Mail he said the PM's deal is now the only way to ensure the UK leaves the EU.

"I have come to this view because the numbers in Parliament make it clear that all the other potential outcomes are worse and an awkward reality needs to be faced," he said.

Mr Johnson on Tuesday set out his red lines for supporting the deal to shouts from the audience. One reader reportedly heckled "you are defeatist".

However Mr Johnson said he would not back the deal "unless I hear clearly that there will be a Canada style deal, that there will not be regulatory alignment".

He added: "Were I to support this deal it is not clear it would get it over the line."

The former Foreign Secretary later told ITV News: "I think that it's still possible that we could go for no-deal.

"What I want to hear is, if this Withdrawal Agreement is to make any sense at all, then there's got to be a massive change in the UK's negotiating approach."

It comes as MPs are gearing up to take part in a series of paper ballots on Wednesday in a bid to work out what kind of Brexit has a chance of winning the support of the House of Commons.

MPs were putting forward their preferred options for the end of Tuesday, with Commons Speaker John Bercow selecting those to be put to a series of indicative Yes-or-No votes over the course of half an hour the following evening.

Further debate and votes on the most popular alternatives will be staged on Monday to try to whittle the list down.

Shortly before the votes, Mrs May will face Tory MPs at a meeting of the backbench 1922 Committee as she battles to save her premiership and her Brexit deal.

It was unclear whether the Government would table Mrs May's Withdrawal Agreement as one of the options for Wednesday night's votes, when options on the table may include a no-deal departure, a Norway-style close relationship with the EU or halting Brexit by revoking the Article 50 process.

On Monday, MPs will debate a petition calling for Brexit to be halted by revoking the UK's withdrawal letter under Article 50 of the EU treaties.

The Commons Petitions Committee said that the petition, which passed 5.75 million signatures on Tuesday evening, had received more support than any other in the history of the parliamentary website. The debate will take place in the Commons' secondary chamber Westminster Hall.

The prospect of MPs voting for a soft Brexit or second referendum appears to be winning some Tory Eurosceptics round to reluctantly backing the PM's deal, but there has been widespread speculation that others might demand Mrs May sets out the timetable for her departure as the price for their support.

Meanwhile, Mrs May was braced for further Commons revolts on Wednesday, with Cabinet ministers demanding free votes on the various Brexit options set to be presented and Eurosceptics poised to reject the domestic legislation delaying the date of the UK's exit from the EU.

The Government defeat on Monday night saw three ministers resign as 30 Tories rebelled to back Sir Oliver Letwin's amendment to give MPs control of the Commons agenda in order to seek a Brexit plan which can command a majority.

But Eurosceptics who have previously opposed the Withdrawal Agreement signalled they could now back it.

"I have always thought that no deal is better than Mrs May's deal, but Mrs May's deal is better than not leaving at all," Mr Rees-Mogg said on a ConservativeHome podcast.

He added that Brexit may now be a "process rather than an event" and it could take time to fully break away from Brussels.

After a marathon Cabinet meeting lasting more than two hours, Mrs May's official spokesman said: "If we are able to hold and win a vote this week, we would then be able to leave the EU in less than two months' time with a deal, which the Prime Minister firmly believes is what the public wants."

It was "extremely unlikely" the deal would return on Wednesday but it would need to be held this week in order to guarantee meeting the terms set by the EU for the extension of Article 50 to the new Brexit day on May 22.

Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom said the Prime Minister was having ongoing discussions "so that we can, if possible this week, approve the deal and guarantee Brexit".

She also indicated that the Commons' Easter recess due to begin on April 5 could be cancelled because time was needed to find a way forward or pass the necessary legislation for the deal and "the country will rightly expect Parliament to be working flat out in either scenario".

So far, the Democratic Unionist Party has given no indication it will end its opposition to the deal.

The Prime Minister has warned she will not feel bound by the results of any indicative votes.

But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the Government must "take this process seriously".

Labour's Hilary Benn, chairman of the Brexit Select Committee and one of the main supporters of Sir Oliver's plan, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "If the Government isn't going to do its job, then Parliament is going to have to take responsibility, and that is what we are doing on Wednesday."