Benyon: "Prime Minister has my full support"

NEWBURY MP Richard Benyon has given his full support to Prime Minister Theresa May and says he believes a leadership contest would be "a great mistake".

It has been a turbulent few days for Mrs May since her draft Brexit plan was agreed by a split Cabinet on Wednesday, with a number of resignations and talk of a no confidence vote.

But Mr Benyon says he is backing the PM.

Speaking to the NWN today (Friday), Mr Benyon said: “I think a leadership contest is quite possible, but I think that would be a great mistake.

“I think she is showing remarkable resilience it what was always going to be a very difficult job to do and I am giving her my full support.

“She can be sure of my support.”

Speaking about the draft Brexit deal, he said: “I am not going to comment on it properly until I have read it all, which is difficult because I’m in Canada at the moment.

“But I’ve been sent part of it and from what I have read I think it is a deal which will please the majority of people who voted leave and those who voted remain but now accept we are going to leave.

“I think it addresses the concerns from the referendum in regards to free movement issues and fisheries and agriculture.

“I think it is a deal that I am happy to support. I think it would be the kind of future agreement with Europe that we can expect.

“I can’t comment on whether the deal will get through Parliament, but I think people just need to calm down a bit and look at the alternatives.

"These include a no deal Brexit or could be something that does not address the chief concerns of the 52 per cent who voted to leave in the referendum.

“One comment I will make was when the [draft Brexit] deal was struck and it looked like it would get through Parliament, the value of the pound soared. Now we are going through this period of uncertainty and it has fallen again.

"Some of my colleagues need to look at the authentic voice of the people who are making a real investment in our economy and not be too rigid in securing the ideological Brexit they want to see.

"A no deal Brexit, I think, would be very bad.

“If we were just to crash out of the EU on March 29 next year without any caveats or arrangements in place, that would not be something I’d want to see.”