Brexit: More than 170 business leaders urge Theresa May to back fresh referendum after deal rejected by MPs

'With the clock now ticking rapidly before we are due to quit, politicians must not waste any more time on fantasies'

Theresa May has been urged to back a final say referendum rather than "waste more time on Brexit fantasies" by more than 170 business leaders.

The influential group, including former Marks and Spencer boss Lord Myners, architect Lord Foster, and lastminute.com co-founder Baroness Lane-Fox, ramped up pressure on the prime minister and Jeremy Corbyn to back a fresh vote on leaving the European Union.

Ms May issued a desperate appeal to opposition leaders to break the Brexit impasse on Wednesday night, after she survived a confidence vote in the Commons with support from the DUP and Tory Brexiteers.

However she faces an uphill battle to end the deadlock, as the Labour leader snubbed her invitation, while other parties agreed to engage if a no-deal exit was taken off table.

Business groups had urged MPs to support the prime minister's deal before it was emphatically rejected in parliament on Tuesday, by a record 230 votes.

In the wake of the defeat, senior business leaders urged politician to row in behind a second referendum on Brexit - a cause championed by The Independent's Final Say campaign.

"Many businesses backed the prime minister's Brexit deal despite knowing that it was far from perfect," said the letter published in The Times.

"But it is no longer an option. The priority now is to stop us crashing out of the EU with no deal at all. The only feasible way to do this is by asking the people whether they still want to leave the EU.

"With the clock now ticking rapidly before we are due to quit, politicians must not waste any more time on fantasies. We urge the political leadership of both the main parties to support a people's vote."

It comes as pro-EU Labour MPs try to bounce Mr Corbyn into campaigning for a fresh vote, with more than 70 MPs and 13 MEPs signing a letter in support.

The move intensified pressure on Mr Corbyn to move quickly, after senior Labour figures indicated that the party was ready to table repeated no-confidence challenges to the prime minister after Wednesday's vote failed to oust her.

Labour's party conference passed a motion saying a general election was its priority but the party would "support all options remaining on the table, including campaigning for a public vote" if an election was not possible.

Ms May gave a late-night statement outside Downing Street on Wednesday, where she told MPs it was their "duty to act in the national interest, reach a consensus and get this done".

"In a historic vote in 2016, the country decided to leave the EU," she said.

"In 2017, 80 per cent of people voted for parties that stood on manifestos promising to respect that result.

"Now, over two-and-a-half years later, it's time for us to come together, put the national interest first - and deliver on the referendum."