May’s plea on her Brexit deal provokes passionate responses

Theresa May's direct plea to the public to back her Brexit deal has provoked impassioned responses from those on both sides of the debate.

Prominent physicist Jon Butterworth issued a fiery reply to a tweet of the letter, which was published on social media.

"I want freedom of movement for me and my children, and it will be a cold day in hell before I unite behind you & the party you lead," said the Large Hadron Collider scientist, who is a professor at University College London.

"I will never forgive those who brought my country down in this shameful manner."

Minister for Sport, Civil Society and Loneliness Mims Davies, a Conservative, backed Mrs May, saying it was "time to unite & progress".

She tweeted: "@theresa_may has written to us ALL.I believe like PM its time for us all to be ready to listen & all move forward.Lets not just re fight referendum forever more, lets not focus on a divide,use incendiary language,argue more than we look for common ground."

Welsh Labour MP Stephen Doughty, supporter of the People's Vote campaign, fired off a quick reply to the PM.

"Not thanks. Not buying it," it said.

"Let's have a People's Vote instead to let the people of this country have a final say, with the option to stay."

Tory MP Sarah Wollaston, chairwoman of the Commons Health Select Committee, rejected the PM's assertion that hers is "a deal for a brighter future".

"Not a brighter future, just dimmer & diminished. There is no valid consent to this Deal without a #PeoplesVote," she tweeted.

Scottish Labour MP Ged Killen likened Mrs May's pledge to end free movement of people "once and for all" to comments US president Donald Trump might make.

He tweeted: "Feels like something Trump might tweet. Still breaks my heart to think my nieces and nephews won't grow up with the same freedom I had to live, work and study across the EU"

Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said Mrs May "cannot be trusted".

She tweeted: "You have let us down so badly, you have let Gibraltar and its citizens down too, they looked to you and the Tory party for support but you failed them when they needed us in their hour of need, they have been totally discarded, what a mess"