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Senior members of Theresa May's cabinet have been in secret discussions with Labour to plot for a soft Brexit , according to reports.

The Prime Minister reportedly found out about the talks several days ago, but she is powerless to stop the plotting because her authority was so massively weakened by the humiliating general election result.

The Tory plotters and Labour want to press for major concessions on immigration, the customs union and the single market, the Daily Telegraph reported.

One senior Conservative MP said the Tories are "no longer in control of the Brexit process".

It comes after Labour MP Yvette Cooper called for a “cross-party commission” to deal with the issue of Brexit - an idea backed by former Conservative leader William Hague.

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

A commission would include business leaders, the first ministers of devolved governments and “the leaders of all the opposition parties – yes, even Corbyn” to agree common ground, Lord Hague wrote in the Telegraph.

He also suggested Britain could join the European Economic Area, like Norway, for two years as a staging post to full Brexit .

Meanwhile Ms Cooper warned there would have to be "compromises on all sides” after Mrs May failed to win a majority, instead of the debate being “stuck in a Tory cabal”.

She added: "It’s true there is no precedent for this. But there’s no precedent for anything any more.

"No one will get everything they want. Everyone will have to compromise. But in the national interest we all have a responsibility to work in a grown-up way now over the Brexit negotiations."

(Image: Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)

Mrs May was cheered as she faced her backbench MPs last night at the 1922 Committee , telling them: "I got us into this mess and I'll get us out of it."

The Tories' loss of 13 seats in the general election means the party will now have to rely on Northern Ireland's DUP to pass laws in the Commons.

The DUP wants to minimise Brexit’s impact on Northern Ireland and several Tories favour a soft departure, meaning the Mrs May could face being outnumbered on some issues in the House of Commons.

Brexiteer Michael Gove, the newly appointed Environment Secretary, distanced himself from the idea of a cross-party commission in an interview on Radio 4 this morning.

But he admitted: "The Conservatives were not returned with a majority. That means we need to proceed with the maximum possible consensus.

(Image: DAILY MIRROR)

"We also need to ensure the concerns of people who voted remain... are part of our conversations."

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson – who revived the party north of the border – warned Mrs May she must now tone down her hard Brexit plan.

“The key issue is to ensure we put our country’s economic future first and foremost,” she said.

Influential Tory MP George Freeman, who chairs the Conservative Policy Forum, also called for Mrs May to ditch her hard Brexit and focus on promises to help “just about managing” families, a feature of her early days in office.

“It’s a moment for cabinet to return to that messianic message of hope,” he said.

(Image: Jeff J Mitchell)

Tory peer Ann McIntosh even urged Mrs May to work with Labour and the Lib Dems on Brexit .

And ex-Tory MP Stephen Dorrell said Mrs May’s Brexit plan has been rejected by the British public.

“She said she was seeking a mandate to ­negotiate her sort of Brexit , the result denies her that mandate,” he said.

Mrs May flies to Paris today for her first one-to-one meeting with new French President Emmanuel Macron.

It comes amid Parliamentary chaos that saw the Queen’s Speech was delayed and the start date of the vital Brexit negotiations plunged into doubt .