Jeremy Hunt has warned the probability of a no-deal Brexit is “increasing by the day”.
The foreign secretary blamed the European Commission for believing they “just need to wait and Britain will blink”.
“That is just a profound misunderstanding of us as a nation,” he told the Evening Standard.
Hunt used a diplomatic trip to France and Austria on Tuesday to try and speak over the heads of the Commission in Brussels directly to EU leaders.
“There is real chance of No Deal by accident. Everyone is assuming, no, no, no, this will never happen. Well, actually, it could,” he said.
“France and Germany have to send a strong signal to the Commission that we need to negotiate a pragmatic and sensible outcome that protects jobs on both sides of the Channel because for every job lost in the UK, there will be jobs lost in Europe as well if Brexit goes wrong.”
Pro-Brexit Tory MPs have reacted with fury to warnings from the UK government about the consequences of no deal, accusing Theresa May of running a “project fear” campaign.
The government has already said it has plans to stockpile food and medicine.
It is the latest attempt by Hunt to ratchet up the pressure over the consequences of the failure to secure a trade deal.
Last week he said “only person rejoicing” at a no deal Brexit would be Vladimir Putin.
His trip to Europe follows a visit to China, where Hunt mistakenly told his hosts his Chinese wife is Japanese before correcting himself and admitting he had made a “terrible mistake”.