Revealed: Fareham MP's plea to colleagues to remain calm amid Tory Brexit '˜mutiny'

LEAKED mobile phone messages have shown how a Fareham MP battled to try and unite colleagues amid Brexit chaos in the Conservative ranks.
Suella FernandesSuella Fernandes
Suella Fernandes

Suella Fernandes’s message to her fellow MPs in a private chat log from mobile messaging service WhatsApp revealed how she fought to keep the party united.

It came after a damning front page by The Daily Telegraph in November, which branded 15 Remain-supporting Tory backbenchers ‘mutineers’ because they were preparing to challenge the withdrawal bill.

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The MPs were part of the influential European Research Group, which was chaired by Ms Fernandes.

The revelation triggered an immediate backlash on social media, prompting Ms Fernandes to appeal to her Eurosceptic colleagues asking them to be calm and constructive.

One message, revealed by BuzzFeed News, said: ‘No one can think the Telegraph’s front page this morning did us and Brexit any good.

‘Can I please just urge everyone to likewise encourage everyone they speak to, inside and outside the House: let’s respectfully allow those who want to have their say on the Bill the space and time to do so.’

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Appealing for calm, she added: ‘We will all still be colleagues once this is over. And we will need to pull together. The prospect of both losing Brexit, and gaining Corbyn, are too dreadful to contemplate.’