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Theresa May's position at Brexit was the subject of a concerted attack within her party. The main conservatives are preparing not to make further concessions in Brussels as the negotiations reach their final frenetic stage.
Ministers were told to expect in-depth discussions on Brexit at the Cabinet meeting next week; and some preferring a looser, Canadian-style deal at the May Checkers' plan, the pressure increased on Downing Street to change course.
Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab defended the government's strategy in the House of Commons on Tuesday, insisting that the UK and Brussels are getting closer to "viable solutions" to the outstanding issues.
"These negotiations would always be difficult in the home stretch. This is all the more reason why we must hold our nerves, remain resolute and focused. I am confident that we will reach an agreement this autumn, "he said.
Keir Starmer, Brexit's shadow secretary, however, ridiculed his comments: "We've been here a few times already … it's like Groundhog Day. We have the same old story. The secretary of state claims that everything is going according to plan.
Earlier, Penny Mordaunt, a Brexiter government member, had declined to explicitly support May's Checkers plan, saying she simply would not comment on the proposals.
While she insisted that May could count on her support for the moment, the International Secretary for Help raised the possibility that this could be conditional if the final agreement looked like a " derailment or fudge attempt "at the end of the Brexit vote.
"The Prime Minister can count on my support. But what I would say is that we do not know where it will end. We are at a critical moment now. The ball has firmly returned to the EU camp; we are waiting for them to answer, "she said.
David Davis, who resigned as Brexit Secretary after the Checkers Summit, wrote to every Conservative MP that he would stay on the current course, providing for a "common settlement" for the goods, would have disastrous consequences for the urn.
"If we stay on our current trajectory, we will participate in the next elections, the government having brought none of the benefits of Brexit, the country being reduced to want to take rules in Brussels and not having kept several promises . in the Lancaster House manifesto and speech, "he said.
Davis' intervention was one of many known party personalities on Tuesday. A senior Brexiter official said: "This is part of a carefully calibrated and planned campaign and there is still a lot to come."
Mark Harper, a former chief whip who largely supports May, has added his name to those who believe that a more flexible Canadian-style business relationship would be more likely to move to the Commons.
Harper said he was alarmed by reports that the Conservative whips were hoping to convince the Labor MPs to stand up when the government announced a Brexit agreement in Parliament.
"I would prefer that the Prime Minister come back with an agreement that overrides the Conservative Party, which means that she can be convinced to bring it to fruition," he said. "She needs to have her own team behind her."
He added that May's position would inevitably evolve as the negotiations proceed – but it should be aimed at a more flexible trade agreement, like Canada, and not a closer one, to Norway.
"I think she could come to a place where she could convince every Conservative MP," he said.
Steve Baker, Davis's former colleague in the departing department of the EU, also criticized the Checkers approach and said 40 of his colleagues were determined to vote against, regardless of the consequences.
In the Commons, Raab rejected Brexiters calls for May that she wanted to abandon her Checkers plan and seek an agreement similar to Canada's. He told Baker that his free trade proposal would be "a shortcut to not bargain".
"Although it is theoretically possible for us to do this, we can not do it and have an agreement with the EU," he said, pointing out that Brussels had insisted on legally supporting binding on the question of the Irish border which would actually make a free trade agreement impossible.
Raab also denied that the government is preparing to accept that the whole of the United Kingdom actually remains indefinitely in a customs union, in order to avoid a hard border in Ireland. Insisting on the issue by MEPs, he said any extension of a customs union should be "temporary, limited and time-bound".
Democratic Unionist Party deputy leader Nigel Dodds has warned the government against any deal that separates Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK. "We were clear about this from the first day. That's why we had the debacle [over the backstop] in December. Do not repeat this error. "
Last week, May warned her colleagues at the party conference in Birmingham: "If we all go in different directions in search of our own vision of the perfect Brexit, we risk finding ourselves without any Brexit."
With intensive discussions taking place in Brussels all week long, backbenchers criticizing May's approach are making their point. The Brexiters in May's cabinet also closely follow developments.
Those who ask chuck checkers to worry that the "common rules" will mean excessive alignment on EU rules and that friction-free trade in goods will limit the UK's ability to conclude future commercial agreements.
