'Do not defend Brexit because it is toxic with voters and was handled very badly,' says Tory MP

Eurosceptics should not defend Brexit because it is toxic with voters and Boris Johnson handled it badly, a veteran Eurosceptic Tory MP has claimed.

Bernard Jenkin, who admitted he was a reluctant Brexiteer ahead of the 2016 referendum, set out how Eurosceptics should look to combat Labour's EU reset as Andy Burnham mulls over dragging the UK back into the Brussels bloc.

The Harwich & North Essex MP advised Eurosceptics to stop defending Boris Johnson's Brexit deal as the UK's withdrawal from the EU was not implemented in the way the official Vote Leave campaign had envisaged when 17.4 million backed Brexit in 2016.

Speaking at a Prosperity Institute fringe event at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, Mr Jenkin said: "The word to excise from your mind is Brexit.

"Do not defend Brexit because Brexit is toxic with voters."

The 67-year-old, who was the inspiration for Richard Curtis's on-screen characters called "Bernard" in the likes of Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill, added: "If you ask me if Brexit was a success, I'd say it was very badly handled.

"If we had followed Vote Leave's advice, we would have left without invoking Article 50."

Polling suggests the UK would now vote in favour of rejoining the EU just 10 years after Britons backed severing ties with the Brussels bloc.

A new YouGov poll found 59 per cent would now want to rejoin, compared to just 32 per cent who back staying out.

However, Mr Jenkin insisted Brexiteers must continue the fight back against Labour's plot to rejoin the EU.

He warned Labour's talk of a cross-Channel "reset" is deliberately "innocuous", instead suggesting real-world examples could turn people against the prospect of returning to the EU.

The veteran Tory MP, who played a pivotal role in the eventual downfall of Boris Johnson, pointed to polling showing widespread opposition to giving away power to Brussels.

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He also maintained an increased membership fee and trade disruption could prove vital to any campaign to stay out of the bloc.

Before reflecting on the 2016 campaign, Mr Jenkin said Mr Burnham's EU announcement had got his "blood up again".

The Prime Minister, who earlier this year insisted he had no intention of reigniting the debate around EU membership, told attendees at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool that rejoining the bloc remains an option.

Speaking to GB News after his keynote speech, Mr Burnham said: “We look at all options.

"The speech was about deciding the long-term direction for this country. Where do we want to be in 10 years' time?"

Despite Kemi Badenoch ruling out a working relationship with Nigel Farage some Brexiteers now believe the right will need to unite to ensure the UK does not rejoin the EU.

Shadow Housing Secretary Katie Lam, who was earmarked as a Reform UK defection target, said “different parties” would have to decide “which side they would fall on” should a fresh campaign to return to the bloc be launched.

She also claimed the Tories would be much more united in opposing European membership compared to in 2016.

More than half of Tory MPs - 185 - voted to Remain in the 2016 referendum.

Meanwhile, 138 Conservative MPs came out as Brexiteers, including six Cabinet ministers.

Despite the parliamentary party being split on Europe, 247 seats held by the Tories in 2015 voted in favour of leaving the EU, compared to just 80 which voted to Remain.

Mr Jenkin's seat voted to leave the EU by a margin of 61 per cent to 39 per cent.