FORMER chancellor Philip Hammond has said there has been "no progress" on Brexit negotiations.
Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme today, Hammond said: "There is no progress. There are no substantive negotiations going on.
"No progress is being made because the UK Government has tabled no proposals. I suspect the reason is that the UK Government itself has concluded, as leaks have suggested, that there are no alternative arrangements that would be implementable on October 31 that would meet the EU's red lines and therefore anything the UK Government does propose is likely to be rejected as unacceptable."
The UK Government has threatened Tory MPs who vote in favour of preventing a No-Deal Brexit today with deselection at the next General Election.
READ MORE: Brexit: Tory rebels to vote against PM despite deselection threat
Hammond, who is one of several Tory rebels prepared to vote against the Government, was also asked if Downing Street had the power to stop him standing as a Conservative at the next election.
He said: "I don't believe they do and there would certainly be the fight of a lifetime if they tried to."
Asked whether he would be prepared to take such a fight to the courts, he said: "Possibly. A lot of my colleagues have come under immense pressure. Some have responded to that by saying 'enough, I'm going'. That is not going to be my approach. This is my party. I have been a member of this party for 45 years."
READ MORE: MPs try to stop No-Deal Brexit before Johnson suspends Parliament
In what was seen as a swipe at the Prime Minister's controversial right-hand man, Dominic Cummings, he said: "I am going to defend my party against incomers, entryists, who are trying to turn it from a broad church to narrow faction.
"People who are at the heart of this government, who are probably not even members of the Conservative Party, who care nothing about the future of the Conservative Party, I intend to defend my party against them."
The former foreign secretary said it was his understanding that Cummings was "not and never has been" a party member.
"I haven't heard a denial from Downing Street, but perhaps we will hear one if that is not the case," he added.
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