DOWNING Street is drawing up secret plans to dump Theresa May’s Chequers Brexit blueprint if EU leaders reject it next week.

The Sun can reveal that work is underway to “pivot” away from the softer Brexit plan to allow the PM to escape a political disaster.

6 PM's Chequers plan is under threat by secret plans at Downing Street to dump it after possible EU rejection Credit: EPA

The Tory party meets for its annual conference just 10 days after a crucial EU summit in the Austrian town of Salzburg next Wednesday.

The gathering is swiftly turning into a make or break moment for Mrs May’s premiership.

Allies fear she will face huge pressure to resign if she is forced to go in front of the Tory faithful with her Chequers plan in pieces.

Two different escape options are being looked at.

6 The PM's country house 'Chequers' is where Mrs May arrived at her Brexit blueprint Credit: Getty - Contributor

Under the first, Chequers will be parked until talks resume after Brexit day for a loosely-worded fudge on the future relationship instead.

The second option is to abandon it altogether and return to a more basic Canada style free trade agreement - but only if the EU gives way on its Irish border hardline.

One Cabinet minister told The Sun: “Plan A is the EU27 show enough leg to keep Chequers alive, at least until after conference.

“That’s far from clear yet, so we need a Plan B.

That is, if you’re in a cul de sac the best way to get out of it is fast.”

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The senior minister added: “The Prime Minister will not be left stranded, so work is under way to ensure she can pivot away from Chequers quickly if she needs to after Salzburg”.

The 27 EU leaders are expected to boost Mrs May with warm words in Salzburg about the Brexit divorce deal and future security partnership.

But No10 aides fear they may well still give her the thumbs down on Chequers’ two key planks - the Future Customs Arrangement and single market access for good only.

6 Senior minister has said the EU27 are expected to 'boost Mrs May with warm words in Salzburg' Credit: AFP or licensors

Cabinet minister allies are also unsure Mrs May can survive a third major change of plan on Brexit.

One added: “Has the PM got the dexterity to pull off a pivot?

Quite frankly, that’s not clear to me”.

It has also emerged that the PM’s chief spin doctor told Brexiteers that the Chequers plan could yet change substantially during a dinner in No10 on Monday night.

6 Robbie Gibb, No10 comms boss, pleaded with nine Tory MP's to get behind Mrs May Credit: Alamy Live News

Wining and dining senior critics of the soft Brexit plan, Downing Street comms boss Robbie Gibb pleaded with nine Tory MPs to get behind Mrs May, hinting sweeping changes to the plans are coming.

Over salmon, asparagus soup and white wine in the PM’s wood panelled dining room, MPs claim Mr Gibb told them not to “die in a ditch” as the final deal could look very different as it is still “subject to negotiations”.

However allies of Mr Gibb present dispute the account.

But the charm offensive backfired after Brexiteer ringleader Bernard Jenkin “lost his temper” and lashed out that the Chequers model would never work.

Fellow Tory Daniel Kawczynski hit out at Mrs May’s stance that a soft Brexit was needed because of Northern Ireland, pointing to the Poland’s border with Belarus to show smuggling can be countered.

6 EU officials say that Mr Barnier will 'not be sidelined' and a new deal will not be easier to make if Chequers fails Credit: Reuters

And Mr Gibb’s warning there could be a second referendum if Chequers collapsed was “noisily dismissed by the whole room”, who pointed out that the PM would have to table such a vote herself and has already ruled it out.

Last night eurocrats warned that expectations on the UK side of an imminent breakthrough in the talks had been overinflated.

A senior EU official told The Sun: “There’s a lot of overspin about changing the mandate.

The mood music here is we aren’t going to do that.

“The Brits shouldn’t have illusions.

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The spin that Barnier will be sidelined and it’ll be much easier to make a different deal with the leaders, that’s not how the process works.

“There’s a lot of overspin these days on the UK side and we have to be very cautious with all that because the disappointment will be rather big.”

The official also said that British hopes a summit of EU leaders in Salzburg will change the course of the talks are misplaced.

They said: “People shouldn’t expect that Salzburg will suddenly dramatically change our position or the course of the negotiations.”

6 Hungarian leader Viktor Orban has said he wants Britain to have a generous trade deal Credit: EPA

However, the PM was handed a rare boost by Hungarian leader Viktor Orban who said his country wants to see Britain handed a generous trade deal.

He said: “We would like to have a fair Brexit because we love the British and we cooperated always well.

You deserve a good deal, a fair deal.”

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The PM told a meeting of her Cabinet that Salzburg will be “a staging post” towards a Brexit deal.

He added: “The PM said she expected EU leaders to take stock of the progress made in the negotiations on both the withdrawal and future relationship.

“It will also be the first time leaders will discuss together the UK’s white paper, which put forward a series of credible and serious proposals.”

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Meanwhile Brexiteers stepped up their attack on the PM's plans - telling her chief of staff at a dinner in No10 that she must chuck her Chequers blueprint or face a leadership contest.

One MP warned chief of staff Gavin Barwell that a leadership contest was almost certainly to be triggered as early as next month if she stuck to her current plan.

Mr Barwell promised them he'd give the PM a "full appraisal" of their views.

At a separate meeting of the influential backbench European Research Group hardened their opposition to the PM.

A Tory MP in the meeting said everyone in the room agreed Mrs May's time was up.

The MP told itv news: "Everyone I know says 'she has to go, she's a disaster, this can't go on.'"

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The group of about 50 backbench Tory MPs even war-gamed a leadership contest, the MP said.

The number at the ERG meeting is significant given only 48 Tory MPs are needed to trigger a no confidence vote in the leader.