A Question Time audience erupted into cheers and applause after it was suggested that Britain should leave the European Union with a 'no-deal' Brexit.

Spectators at the BBC show whooped as it was suggested that walking away from talks with Brussels was the 'only option' available to Prime Minister Theresa May.

Filmed in the Leave-voting city of Derby, the audience produced the loudest reaction of the night in response to the suggestion by Brexiteer writer Isabel Oakeshott.

Asked by host Fiona Bruce if there was any deal the Conservatives could unilaterally agree on, Ms Oakeshott said: 'Look, I can save everybody a lot of time here.

Filmed in the Leave-voting city of Derby, the audience produced the loudest reaction of the night in response to the suggestion by Brexiteer writer Isabel Oakeshott (pictured)

'The short answer is – no, there isn't. That's why it seems to me the only option for Mrs May now, and I am going to admit that it a sub-optimal position, is to walk away.

Asked by Ms Bruce is she meant a no-deal exit, she replied 'Yes, absolutely, because there isn't an alternative', causing the eruption of cheers from spectators.

The prospect of a 'chaotic' no-deal Brexit is becoming more likely after Mrs May's Withdrawal Agreement was humiliatingly obliterated by MPs in a vote this week.

Some economists have warned that such an exit from the EU could tip Britain into a recession worse than the financial crash, shrinking GDP by eight per cent.

Meanwhile, a cross-Government analysis found the UK economy would be 9.3 per cent smaller after 15 years if Britain leaves without a deal.

However proponents of no deal claim it would be a minor hiccup on the path to self-determination, with the UK adopting automatic World Trade Organisation status.

The Question Time audience erupted into cheers and applause after it was suggested that Britain should leave the European Union with a 'no-deal' Brexit

Spectators at the BBC show whooped as it was suggested that walking away from talks with Brussels was the 'only option' available to Prime Minister Theresa May

A no-deal Brexit remains the default if politicians cannot come together in squeaky bum time to formulate an alternative.

Mrs May used the prospect of a no-deal Brexit, and the damage it could cause, as a carrot and stick to convince sceptical MPs to back the Withdrawal Agreement.

But other ministers have been less negative, with International Trade Secretary Liam Fox telling the BBC’s Today programme: 'I don’t regard no-deal as national suicide.

'This is not Dunkirk, this is leaving the European Union.'

Former Brexit secretaries David Davis and Dominic Raab argue that many of the warnings are overblown, including on the customs and border problems.

They say there may be some minor hiccups but they can quickly be overcome and the UK could do global business on World Trade Organisation terms quite happily.