Parliament must be allowed to challenge Theresa May's plans for Brexit to avoid the "tyranny of the majority" silencing other views, Ken Clarke has said.

The veteran former Cabinet minister, who said he would vote against Article 50 being triggered, said many of his Conservative colleagues shared the view that Parliament must be allowed to shape the plans for quitting the European Union.

The Europhile former chancellor said it would be undemocratic if MPs and peers were not allowed to vote on issues of "huge importance".

He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "I may be, probably, possibly, the only Conservative who votes against Article 50.

"But once we get past that stage, there are lots of Conservative MPs who agree with me that Parliament must be allowed to have a view on the single market, the customs union, what access industries and businesses and services have to Europe and vice versa."

Allowing the Cabinet to decide on the nature of Brexit, rather than MPs and peers, would be "totally undemocratic", he said.

"It's not exactly mob rule, but it is the tyranny of the majority being imposed to silence people's opinions on complicated issues of huge importance for the future."