Former Conservative Party chairman Chris Patten has said a second Brexit referendum could now be “the only and the best way” to prevent an act of national “self-harm”.
In a speech on Monday, Lord Patten will compare Theresa May’s tactics to those of Dr Strangelove.
Lord Patten served as a British EU Commissioner in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
“The whole sorry shambles began with a decision to call a referendum in order to try to manage the English nationalist right wing of the Conservative Party,” he will say.
“It may be that we can only end this divisive and impoverishing argument by holding another referendum.
“That may prove to be the only and the best way for Britain to avoid an act of self-harm that would betray the aspirations of so many not least the younger citizens of this country.”
Lord Patten, who is fiercely pro-EU, has previously branded referendums as “appalling and a sin against parliamentary democracy”.
Theresa May has promised to give MPs a chance to vote on her Brexit deal on or around January 15.
The prime minister warned on Sunday that if the Commons rejected her deal, as is expected, the UK would be entering “uncharted territory”.
But Lord Patten is expected to say he does not believe May or the Cabinet would ever really sanction a no deal Brexit.
“It would be very damaging. These are similar to the tactics made famous by Dr Strangelove: if you threaten that something crazy will happen your opponents will back down,” he will say.
May again rejected calls for a second referendum, saying it would be disrespectful to people who voted for Brexit in 2016.
Meanwhile, shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner has suggested Labour could offer a referendum on a renegotiated Brexit deal.
