David Davis has said that he has no interest in the Tory leadership, but allies claim he could emerge as a caretaker leader and ‘saviour of the nation’

David Davis has accused the prime minister and her aides of being “astonishingly dishonest” for claiming that there is no alternative to her Chequers plan for Britain’s future deal with the EU.

The former Brexit secretary accused the government of having “blinked” in its negotiations with Brussels by abandoning his plan and replacing it with a deal that would see Britain stick to EU laws on the sale of goods.

Writing in The Sunday Times, Davis denounced May’s plan, saying adhering to EU rules would leave Britain’s “fingers caught in this mangle” and render the control of parliament over UK law “more illusory than real”.

He accused the cabinet of having made “concessions to the EU that were so fundamental they risked undermining the