Cabinet ministers have warned that Theresa May will face mass resignations if MPs are barred from trying to stop a no-deal Brexit. The Prime Minister said on Thursday that it is "impossible" to rule out a no-deal Brexit under the terms of Article 50 and warned that it "not in the Government's power" to do so.

However as many as 20 mid-ranking ministers have indicated that they are prepared to quit the Government so they can support backbench moves to stop a no-deal Brexit.

The Telegraph has learned that a delegation of five ministers from the group visited the Prime Minister in No 10 and warned her directly that they were prepared to quit.

One Cabinet minister told The Telegraph: "I think that the Prime Minister will come under a lot of pressure to give ministers a free vote on it.

"I personally think she would be wise to do that because she doesn't really want people to resign, and there are definitely people who would resign over it.

"It is hard to see the Government defeating it if people vote in line with their views. It damages peoples credibility to have to take a leave of absence to avoid having to vote against something. I don't think people want to do that."