Jeremy Corbyn and opposition leaders have united behind plans to use legislation to block a no-deal Brexit, as proposals for a vote of no confidence in the prime minister were put on ice.

At crunch talks convened by the Labour leader, senior MPs war-gamed legislative tactics to thwart no deal, which they hope to employ when parliament returns next week.

Opposition party leaders described the meeting as “positive”, after being reassured by Mr Corbyn that Labour would throw its weight into Commons battles rather than calling a premature vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson.

The Independent previously revealed that senior MPs involved in the efforts to thwart no deal believe the most likely chance of success would be a bill compelling the prime minister to seek an extension from the EU if there is no deal in place by Halloween.

On a frenetic day in Westminster, Mr Corbyn also appealed to more than 116 Conservative and independent MPs – including Theresa May and Philip Hammond – to work with him to stop a chaotic Brexit.

Elsewhere, cross-party MPs met at Church House – the wartime home of parliament – to sign a declaration to do “whatever is necessary” to stop no deal.

Action has ramped up significantly in Westminster ahead of the end of the summer recess, as MPs prepare to challenge the prime minister over his “do or die” pledge to leave the EU on 31 October.

Mr Corbyn gathered the Westminster leaders of the SNP, the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, the Greens and the Independent Group for Change in his Commons office for an hour-long meeting on Tuesday.

Sources in the room said the MPs spoke briefly about calling a vote of no confidence in the prime minister but dedicated most of the hour-long meeting to discussing tactics to create a legal barrier to no deal.

Further talks will be held in the coming days.

In a joint statement, the parties said: “Jeremy Corbyn outlined the legal advice he has received from shadow attorney general Shami Chakrabarti which calls Boris Johnson’s plans to suspend parliament to force through a no deal ‘the gravest abuse of power and attack upon UK constitutional principle in living memory’.

“The attendees agreed that Boris Johnson has shown himself open to using anti-democratic means to force through no deal.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

“The attendees agreed on the urgency to act together to find practical ways to prevent no deal, including the possibility of passing legislation and a vote of no confidence.”

The show of unity comes after the Liberal Democrats poured cold water over Labour’s plan to topple the government and appoint Mr Corbyn as a temporary prime minister.

Jo Swinson, the Lib Dem leader, called for the parties to unite behind another candidate, such as Tory grandee Ken Clarke or Labour’s Harriet Harman.

Speaking to The Independent after the talks, Plaid Cymru Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts said the meeting had a “very positive spirit”.

She said: “What we agreed upon is we will work upon a legislative approach and that we will be implementing that as soon as we can [next week].”

Ms Saville Roberts added party leaders are “still discussing the actual methodology” of how the legislative route might work.

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said opposition leaders were “committing to work together effectively to prevent a catastrophic no-deal”.

He told The Independent outside the meeting: “This is a crisis. We have to stop no deal and there was a real willingness from all of us in that room to work together.”

Mr Blackford confirmed the MPs intend to “bring forward legislation to remove that cliff edge of a no-deal Brexit at the end of October”.

He added: “We know we have a majority in parliament against no deal. We have to give voice to that.”

Ms Swinson said the focus of the opposition should be the pursuit of legislative means to stop a no-deal Brexit. She added they would act as “soon as possible”.

Anna Soubry, leader of the Independent Group for Change, said: “The legislative route is the way to stop it … We are not going to go into all the detail on it but it is about parliament doing its job, about MPs doing our job, representing our constituents.

Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out Show all 40 1 /40 Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Jacob Rees-Mogg Jacob Rees Mogg appointed Leader of the Commons AFP/Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Esther McVey Esther McVey appointed housing secretary AFP/Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Jo Johnson Jo Johnson appointed new business and energy secretary EPA Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Brandon Lewis Brandon Lewis appointed immigration secretary Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: James Cleverly James Cleverly appointed Conservative Party chairman PA Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Baroness Evans Baroness Evans remains Leader of Lords PA Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Julian Smith Julian Smith appointed Northern Irish secretary Reuters Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Alister Jack Alister jack appointed Scottish secretary PA Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Alun Cairns Alun Cairns remains Welsh secretary AFP/Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Grant Shapps Grant Shapps appointed transport secretary Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Alok Sharma Alok Sharma appointed international development secretary AFP/Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Robert Buckland Robert Buckland appointed justice secretary Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Amber Rudd Amber Rudd remains work and pensions secretary Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Robert Jenrick Robert Jenrick appointed housing and communities secretary AFP/Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Andrea Leadsom Andrea Leadsom appointed business secretary Reuters Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Nicky Morgan Nicky Morgan appointed culture secretary Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Gavin Williamson Gavin Williamson appointed education secretary AFP/Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Theresa Villiers Theresa Villiers appointed environment secretary AFP/Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Liz Truss Liz Truss is appointed international trade secretary Reuters Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Ben Wallace Ben Wallace appointed defence secretary EPA Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Stephen Barclay Stephen Barclay remains EU secretary AFP/Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Dominic Raab Dominic Raab appointed foreign secretary AFP/Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Priti Patel Priti Patel appointed home secretary AFP/Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Michael Gove Michael Gove given Chandellor of the Duchy of Lancaster AFP Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Sajid Javid Sajid Javid is appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer AP Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out Out: Jeremy Hunt Jeremy Hunt sacked as foreign secretary Reuters Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out In: Matt Hancock Matt Hancock remains health secretary AFP/Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out Out: Chris Grayling Chris Grayling resigned as transport secretary Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out Out: Jeremy Wright Jeremy Wright sacked as culture secretary PA Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out Out: Karen Bradley Karen Bradley sacked as Northern Ireland secretary Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out Out: James Brokenshire James Brokenshire sacked as housing and communities secretary Reuters Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out Out: Penny Mordaunt Penny Mourdaunt sacked as defence secretary Reuters Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out Out: Liam Fox Liam Fox sacked as international trade secretary Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out Out: Greg Clarke Greg Clarke sacked as business secretary PA Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out Out: David Mundell David Mundell sacked as Scottish secretary Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out Out: Damien Hinds Damien Hinds sacked as education secretary Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out Out: David Gauke David Gauke resigned as justice secretary EPA Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out Out: Rory Stewart Rory Stewart resigned as international development secretary Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out Out: David Lidlington David Lidlington resigned as deputy Prime Minister PA Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out Out: Philip Hammond Philip Hammond resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer AFP/Getty

“We need legislation to stop us crashing off a cliff on 31 October and we have agreed on that and we would support it.”

Afterwards, Mr Corbyn also fired off an appeal to his former opponent, Ms May, and a string of ex-cabinet ministers who were sacked by Mr Johnson for opposing a chaotic exit from the EU.

The Labour leader said: “We know there is a majority in parliament against no deal.

“As MPs, we’ve voted against no deal on a number of occasions and we did so in the largest number on March 27 of this year.

“As you were one of 116 Conservative or independent MPs who voted against no deal that day and are not on the government frontbench, I am writing to you to offer to work together, in a collegiate, cross-party spirit, to find a practical way to prevent no deal.”

A No 10 source said the plots to stop a no-deal Brexit were “utterly perverse” and accused Mr Corbyn and his allies of “actively seeking to sabotage the UK’s position”.

The source said: “This coalition of anti-democrats should be honest with the British public, they are against us leaving the EU no matter what.

“The government believes politicians don’t get to choose which public votes they respect.”

Meanwhile, Sajid Javid sparked fresh speculation over the prospect of an early general election when his first speech as chancellor was cancelled.