What is really going on in politics? Get our daily email briefing straight to your inbox Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

An arch-Remain Labour peer has declared he wants to "sabotage Brexit " after a poll revealed almost 80% of the party's members back a second EU referendum .

Andrew Adonis backs calls for the public to be given a vote on the deal Theresa May’s team bring back from Brussels.

The former Transport Minister, who quit as Mrs May's infrastructure tsar in a blaze of recriminations, said he thought they would secure an “OK deal”, but that it would be “less good than the status quo.”

Speaking to LBC Radio, he admitted: “I absolutely do want to sabotage Brexit, but I don’t want to do [it] in an undemocratic way.”

It came as Tony Blair also ploughed back into the Brexit debate, claiming Labour would 'annihilate' the Tories if it firmly opposed leaving the EU.

Lord Adonis said he didn't think Brexit should have been put to a public vote in the first place.

(Image: null) (Image: PA)

“It wasn’t an issue of great concern to the British people,” he said.

“Before David Cameron foolishly decided to have this referendum in 2016, opinion polls were showing it was something like the 20th on the list of priorities of the British people. People were much more concerned with things like education, health, jobs.”

He said the only people for whom it was a big issue were “complete headbangers.”

A study today showed 78% of Labour Party members would support a second referendum on the terms of the Brexit deal.

Research published by Queen Mary University into the views of grassroots party members found Labour members were almost as likely as Liberal Democrats (91%) to support a second poll.

Just 14% of Tory members back the idea of a vote on the final Brexit deal. But support was high among SNP members, 87% of whom back a second vote.

Labour frontbenchers have failed to rule out a second referendum in future, but emphasise they do not support one now.

(Image: Getty)

Meanwhile, six senior Tory MPs have threatened to force Theresa May to exclude international students from immigration targets.

Mrs May has repeatedly blocked calls for the change, despite pressure from businesses and universities.

An immigration bill is due in March, which would give rebels a chance to vote on the issue - and six rebels would be enough to overturn Mrs May’s fragile working majority in the House of Commons.

Tory MP Nicky Morgan, who chairs the Treasury Select Committee told the Evening Standard: “I’ve been calling for a long time now for students to be taken out of the immigration numbers.

"I represent a hugely successful international university which has a big positive impact on our local economy so needs overseas students — but also, how do we expect to build positive relations with India and China if they think their students aren’t welcome?”