Scottish Tories threaten to vote down Brexit deal over fishing policy

Mr Mundell, who is among the few MPs to have viewed the 400-plus pages of the draft agreement, met with the Prime Minister on Tuesday night. 

His objection sparked speculation that he could be ready to resign if the Prime Minister fails to take action.

In the letter, the MPs warn: "We could not support an agreement with the EU that would prevent the UK from independently negotiating access and quota shares... We also cannot stay in the Common Fisheries Policy after December 2020."

The emergence of the letter came amid a febrile atmosphere in Westminster as Cabinet ministers gathered at 10 Downing Street for their historic 2pm meeting to decide whether to give their approval to the plan.

They met shortly after Mrs May urged MPs in the Commons to back an agreement which she said would bring the UK "significantly closer" to delivering the result of the 2016 referendum.

At Prime Minister's Questions, Mrs May told MPs: "The Cabinet will decide on the next steps in the national interest.
"I am confident that this takes us significantly closer to delivering what the British people voted for in the referendum."

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the draft deal was "a failure in its own terms" and a senior spokesman said that the "likelihood" was that the party would vote against it in the Commons.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar said the draft deal could provide the basis for a summit of EU leaders by the end of the month, potentially on November 25.

He said he was confident that the proposed arrangements would not negatively impact on the Good Friday Agreement, adding that Dublin was ready to write into any deal a legal guarantee for the unionist community in Northern Ireland, who he acknowledged were going through "a difficult time".

Amid feverish speculation about possible Cabinet resignations, a succession of Conservative MPs came out in opposition to the reported contents of the agreement.

Speaking in the Commons, leading Brexiteer Peter Bone told the PM: "If the media reports about the EU agreement are in any way accurate, you will not be delivering the Brexit people voted for and today you will lose the support of many Conservative MPs and millions of voters across the country."

The deputy chairman of the European Research Group of Eurosceptic Tories, Mark Francois, said Cabinet ministers should "look into their hearts and decide whether a Jaguar and a red box and a bunch of sycophantic civil servants calling you 'Minister' is more important than the destiny of your country".

And Crispin Blunt told the Press Association: "No deal is a great deal better than this."

Leave-backing Tory MP Andrew Bridgen told PA: "This isn't Brexit, it's not even close to Brexit.

"If it were darts, it's not missing the board, this is not even the right wall."

Newton Abbot MP Anne Marie Morris tweeted: "If the leaked information on the proposed Brexit deal is accurate, I cannot support it... The PM is not delivering the Brexit people voted for."

As rival protesters chanted outside the gates to Downing Street, Attorney General Geoffrey Cox was asked as he arrived for the meeting whether the Cabinet were happy with his advice on the deal.

He replied: "We'll see."

The draft agreement of more than 400 pages is understood to involve the UK remaining in a customs union and committing to a "level playing field" on EU rules in areas such as environmental and workplace protections during a backstop period after Brexit.

Cabinet ministers are also looking at a brief political declaration - possibly as short as five pages - setting out an outline framework agreed by EU and UK negotiators for future relations on issues such as trade and security.

This outline remains open for further negotiation ahead of any summit and a final deal will depend on it being acceptable to the UK in its full form.

Addressing concerns that the UK would not be able unilaterally to withdraw from any backstop arrangement, Mrs May told the Commons: "I am aware of the concerns that there are, that we don't want to be in a position where the European Union would find it comfortable to keep the UK in the backstop permanently.

"That's why any backstop has to be temporary."

The "backstop" is intended as a fallback arrangement to avoid a hard border with Ireland unless a wider trade agreement can resolve the issue.

Brussels is understood to have dropped its demand for Northern Ireland alone to remain within the EU customs area until a new trade deal is implemented, but the province could be subject to a different regulatory regime.

It is thought the plan envisages an independent arbitration committee to judge when the backstop could be terminated.

At Westminster, speculation over possible resignations focused on Brexit-backing ministers such as Penny Mordaunt, Andrea Leadsom and Esther McVey.

But sources close to Brexiteer ministers played down the prospect of walkouts, saying "don't expect fireworks today".

Mrs Leadsom told ITV's Good Morning Britain she had had "a good conversation" with the Prime Minister and was "extremely optimistic that we'll have a good deal", while Ms Mordaunt is understood to be still waiting for more information about the proposals.

There were doubts over whether the PM can retain the support of the Democratic Unionist Party, whose 10 MPs prop up her minority administration in the Commons.

Heading for London, DUP leader Arlene Foster said she would not agree to a situation in which Northern Ireland was left "adrift" from the UK.

And the party's chief whip Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said the proposed deal had "the potential to lead to the break-up of the UK", adding: "That is not something we can support."