Brexit: Theresa May '˜has given away leverage over EU by delaying vote'

Sammy Wilson also warned that the prime minister was “wasting her time” by travelling to Europe in the hope of securing new reassurances from fellow EU leaders to allay concerns about the backstop arrangements for the Irish border.

The DUP Brexit spokesperson said Mrs May’s latest plan to secure support for her much-reviled withdrawal deal was doomed to fail, adding that she had adopted “the wrong mindset”.

“Even if she comes back with some assurances over the backstop, these will be meaningless when put against a legally binding agreement,” he told the News Letter.

Mr Wilson also stated that his party’s trust in the prime minister is at an “all-time low”.

He added: “She has already broken her promises to us, and so if we can’t even trust the assurances that she gives us, then how can we possibly trust any assurances from Brussels?”

The East Antrim MP said it was a mistake for the PM to delay the meaningful vote on her Brexit blueprint, claiming that losing the vote would have strengthened her bargaining position with Brussels.

He explained: “The best leverage she would have had was to let the vote go through the Commons, get a massive defeat, then go back to the EU and make it clear there will be no deal unless they offer meaningful concessions.

“By calling off the vote she has thrown that leverage away.”

Branding Mrs May’s course of action as “illogical”, Mr Wilson said it was possible that the PM was “secretly pursuing a Remainer agenda”.

He added: “One possibility which people are increasingly examining is that she doesn’t want to leave the EU, or wants a deal which keeps us tied to Brussels. Don’t forget she was a Remainer in the first place.”

Despite a number of opposition parties pushing for a motion of no confidence in Mrs May, her erstwhile allies the DUP have reiterated that they would not support such a move at this time.

The DUP props up Mrs May’s minority Tory administration as part of the confidence and supply pact between the two parties.

Mr Wilson said: “We would only pull the plug on our support for the government if this rotten deal is passed in the Commons. In the much more likely event that the deal is defeated, we would have no reason to withdraw our support, as the threat posed to Northern Ireland would be eliminated at that stage.”