Furious Brexiteer MPs resoundingly rejected the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement Theresa May outlined in November over fears the Irish backstop could be exploited to keep the UK closely aligned to the European Union. Mr Paterson urged the British Government to put pressure on Brussels with "very public" contingency plans to force their hand to enter renegotiations. The Tory Brexiteer, who has long supported plans for the UK to simply revert to World Trade Organisation (WTO) trade terms, insisted a no deal scenario would still protect frictionless trade between Britain and the rest of the bloc.
Speaking to talkRADIO on Friday, the North Shropshire MP said: "You only move on and take out things like the backstop, which is completely unacceptable to lots of MPs, if you’re putting pressure on the European Union.
"You should do two things. We should press on making very public preparations for World Trade terms – because we may well end up there. We may just get to that and we’re doing that."
Theresa May announced in December ministerial departments had ramped up preparations for a no deal scenario, with businesses being provided with a 100-page information pack outlining changes in their trading mechanisms with EU member states.
Mr Paterson added: "We know the Government is making several preparations, and we know already that people around Calais and Boulogne are ready."
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Brexit news: Mr Paterson urged the Government to "put pressure" on the EU with no deal preparations (Image: SKY NEWS•BBC)