• Says a no-deal Brexit was not an "optimal outcome"
• May has had a tumultuous week in which May’s divorce strategy was rejected by lawmakers for a third time
Image: BBC
Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal remains by far the best option for Britain's exit from the European Union, Education Secretary Damian Hinds said on Tuesday.
"The government's negotiated deal is the best balance and I hope and expect that is still where we will end up," Hinds told BBC television. "Its still the best option, its still the best option actually by far."
He said a no-deal Brexit was not an "optimal outcome".
Britain was no nearer to resolving the chaos surrounding its departure from the European Union after parliament failed on Monday to find a majority of its own for any alternative to Prime Minister Theresa May’s divorce deal.
After a tumultuous week in which May’s divorce strategy was rejected by lawmakers for a third time, despite her offer to quit if it passed, the future direction of Brexit remains mired in confusion.
In a bid to break the impasse, lawmakers on Monday voted on four last-minute alternative Brexit options for what is the United Kingdom’s most far-reaching policy change since World War Two. All were defeated.
The option that came closest to getting a majority was a proposal to keep Britain in a customs union with the EU, which was defeated by three votes.
A proposal to hold a confirmatory referendum on any deal got the most votes, but was defeated by 292-280.
The government is firmly opposed to both of these: the first, because it would mean giving up the freedom to make independent trade deals that many of her eurosceptic lawmakers long for; the second, because May says it would betray the voters who were promised that the result of the 2016 referendum would be implemented, and potentially solve nothing.
Brexit minister Steven Barclay said after the results were announced that the default position was still that Britain would leave the EU on April 12 without a divorce deal - the nightmare scenario for many international businesses.
FOURTH TIME LUCKY?
“The only option is to find a way through which allows the UK to leave with a deal,” told parliament.
He hinted that May could put her deal to a fourth vote this week in the hope of securing an orderly exit before European elections are held from May 23 onwards - an unpredictable complication that May’s government is determined to avoid.