LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s opposition Labour party played down a report earlier on Wednesday that 30 to 40 of its lawmakers would be prepared to defy their leader and back a Brexit deal that Prime Minister Theresa May is trying to strike with the European Union.

“I think we should take all that with a pinch of salt,” a party spokesman said.

He added that since there was no deal on the table yet, it was hard to assess, but that all the evidence pointed against the report’s conclusions.

The Times newspaper said on Wednesday that a group of between 30 to 40 Labour lawmakers could defy their leader, Jeremy Corbyn, and vote for a deal that May hopes to bring back by the end of the year, helping her win approval for the accord from the British parliament.