May says EU27 would think "Christmas had come early" if Corbyn was at Brexit negotiations

However, Mrs May refused to say why she believed Nicola Sturgeon did not have a mandate to demand another vote on Scotland’s future, reiterating simply that now was not the time to consider such a matter.

And as the Tories begin on Tuesday what has been described as a 48-hour nationwide campaign blitz, the PM said a re-elected Conservative government would put in place new trade structures to make sure all parts of the United Kingdom benefited from Brexit.

The new structures will include:

*a new Board of Trade to bring together leading figures from business and politics across all four corners of the UK with a single remit to make sure the benefits and prosperity of Brexit are spread equally across the country;

*a shared prosperity fund, which will use structural fund money, that comes back to the UK following Brexit, to reduce inequalities between communities across the UK’s four nations and

*a network of new overseas trade commissioners around the world to promote British exports and seeking inward investment.

“The opportunities for our economy from Brexit are great, and I am determined the benefits of new jobs and prosperity will be spread equally across the United Kingdom – helping to build a stronger and more united country,” said Mrs May.

As an ICM poll for The Guardian put the Tories down one on its last analysis albeit still with a comfortable 11-point lead over Labour, the Conservative leader accused her Labour opponent of "an abdication of leadership" over Brexit.

In a campaign speech at the defence think-tank RUSI in London, Mrs May said: “Jeremy Corbyn would throw away our negotiating position at a stroke by rejecting the very idea of walking away with no deal…He seems to think any deal – no matter what the price, no matter what the terms – is better than no deal. That’s not leadership; that’s an abdication of leadership.”

She went on: “The bureaucrats in Brussels would think Christmas had come early if the British Government adopted such an approach.”

The PM stressed how she had negotiated for Britain in Europe and knew that the best place to start was to be clear about where you stood and what you wanted.

Stressing there could be no fudging Brexit, she declared: "The British people made their choice and it would be a scandal to do anything other than respect their decision."

Mrs May insisted with the stakes so high this was not the time for a novice in Downing Street.

“If ever there was a time for a prime minister, who is ready and able to do the job from day one, this is it. Because there’s no time for learning on the job. The demands of the role are significant, the ability to master the details crucial and the need to make big, important decisions, inescapable.

“And with the Brexit negotiations beginning just 11 days’ after polling day, we have no time to waste.”

Ahead of a campaign visit to Scotland, the PM was asked why she believed the First Minister, who claims to have a mandate for holding a second independence referendum on the back of the 2016 Holyrood result and after the backing of MSPs, was wrong.

Mrs May replied: “I have been very clear now is not the time to be talking about a second independence referendum in Scotland…Now is the time we need to work together and not pulling ourselves apart as Nicola Sturgeon is.”

In Edinburgh ahead of a visit to Berwickshire, she asked: "Who do you trust to stand up for our precious Union?

“Me, I'm a passionate Unionist, I want to ensure the United Kingdom stays together, we strengthen those bonds across the whole of the United Kingdom. Or Jeremy Corbyn, negotiating with the SNP for a second referendum, which he is says is 'absolutely fine' by him.

“He's going to find out there is a different view from the Scottish people."

Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader, urged voters on Thursday to send a message to Nicola Sturgeon: “You can take your second referendum. We don't want it. We didn't ask for it. We said 'no' and we meant it."