Back me or 'no Brexit at all'

British Prime Minister Theresa May yesterday warned her divided party that there may be "no Brexit at all" if they wrecked her plan to forge a close relationship with the European Union after leaving the world's biggest trading bloc.

"My message to the country this weekend is simple: we need to keep our eyes on the prize," May wrote on Facebook. "If we don't, we risk ending up with no Brexit at all."

Linking the fate of Brexit to her own survival in such an explicit way indicates just how precarious May's position remains after her government was thrust into crisis and US President Donald Trump publicly criticised her Brexit strategy.

With less than nine months to go before the United Kingdom is due to leave the EU on March 29, 2019, the country, the political elite and business leaders are still deeply divided over what form Brexit should take.

By warning that Brexit itself is in danger, May is sending a blunt message to the dozens of hardline Brexiteers in her party that if they sink her premiership then they risk squandering the victory of an EU exit that they have dreamed about for decades.

Some pro-Brexit Conservatives fear that a deal could emerge that leaves Britain tightly bound to EU rules and represents a Brexit in name only.

The British government has also stepped up planning for a so called "no deal" Brexit that could spook financial markets and dislocate trade flows across Europe and beyond.

May has repeatedly said Brexit will happen and has ruled out a rerun of the 2016 referendum, although French President Emmanuel Macron and billionaire investor George Soros have suggested that Britain could still change its mind.

Seeking to strike a balance between those who want a smooth Brexit and those who fear staying too close to the EU's orbit, May sought the approval of senior ministers for her plans on July 6.

After hours of talks at her Chequers country residence she appeared to have won over her cabinet, but just two days later David Davis resigned as Brexit secretary, followed by her foreign minister, Boris Johnson, the next day.

May yesterday called for the country to back her plan for "friction-free movement of goods", saying it was the only option to avoid undermining the peace in Northern Ireland and preserving the unity of the United Kingdom.

When asked on Sunday if she would stand if a Conservative Party leadership contest was triggered, May declined to directly answer saying: "I am in this for the long term."

Meanwhile, a British government minister yesterday said he had resigned and was "deeply ashamed" after being exposed sending an avalanche of lewd social media messages to a couple of barmaids.

Small business minister Andrew Griffiths, formerly Prime Minister Theresa May's chief of staff, said he had stepped down Friday, as the Sunday Mirror newspaper published details of his chats with the two women.

Barmaid Imogen Treharne, 28, told how the married Conservative lawmaker, 47, whose first child was born in April, bombarded her with more than 2,000 messages in three weeks.

The MP sent the women £717 ($950, 810 euros) in return for explicit pictures and videos. He asked them to tie each other up, among other requests.