Fox: MPs are stealing the Brexit result from voters

The international trade secretary Dr Liam Fox also said MPs trying to take control of the Brexit process from the government are trying to ‘hijack Brexit’.

The disgraced former defence secretary who campaigned for the UK to take back control and sovereignty from the European Union made the claim on BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show.

He said: ‘You have got a leave population and a remain parliament. Parliament has not got the right to hijack the Brexit process because parliament said to the people of this country, we will make a contract with you, you will make a decision and we will honour it.

‘What we are now getting is those who were always absolutely opposed to the result of the referendum trying to hijack Brexit and in fact steal the result from the people.

‘On this point, parliament sub-contracted its sovereignty to the people of this country. Parliament said we will not or we cannot make a decision on this, you the British people will make the decision. We cannot take it back.’

He also argued extending Article 50 would force the UK to fight the European elections, due to be held in May, despite a legal ruling from the European Parliament that states that might not be true.

Dr Fox said: ‘If we were to delay it we would be going back on our word that we would be leaving the European Union on March 29.

‘Secondly were we to extend it, it would almost certainly be that we would have to fight the European elections with all the expense that comes with it.’

The international trade secretary said he would not be in favour of extending the deadline on Article 50 but refused to say whether he would resign if such a move became government policy.

Dr Fox said: ‘I am not in favour of delaying Article 50. I don’t think people should say they are going to resign, it makes it much more about them than the principle or the voters and that is what we should be concentrating on.’