JEREMY Corbyn has been accused of a Brexit U-turn after he suggested a Labour government would consider delaying Britain's EU withdrawal in order to negotiate a better deal with Brussels.

The Opposition leader told Sky News: "If we go into government straight away, we would start negotiating straight away. If it meant holding things a bit longer to do it, of course."

Asked if he could see an argument for extending Article 50, Mr Corbyn replied: "That’s an argument that may come up."

Brandon Lewis, the Tory Chairman, said: “Corbyn’s latest U-turn, admitting Labour would delay exiting the EU, shows he cannot be trusted to keep his promise to respect the referendum result; all he would do is take us back to square one."

The Labour leader's remarks came as Theresa May faces the most important week of her political career on which hang not only her own future but also that of the Conservative Government and Brexit itself.

As some 30 ministers took to the four corners of the country to sell the Prime Minister’s deal, No 10 made clear there was no sense of there being just five days to save Mrs May’s premiership. Her spokesman insisted she and her closest colleagues were fully focused on winning Tuesday’s crunch vote.

Yet the parliamentary arithmetic continues to point in one direction: a humiliating defeat for the PM and her Brexit Plan.

Mrs May was warned that she could yet face a string of resignations by ministerial aides if she did not make last-minute changes to her proposed deal; a suggestion from Mike Wood, the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Liam Fox, the International Trade Secretary.

The Midlands MP told the Guardian he had "big issues" with the Northern Ireland backstop and would resign if there were not enough "changes and reassurances" before Tuesday's vote to allow him to support the PM’s Plan.

He argued other PPSs could follow suit. "You can obviously see there have been a number of PPSs who have spoken in favour of the Government this week. A clear majority will vote with the Government on Tuesday.”

But he added: "There are others who have a range of questions and concerns that they will want to be resolved before making their decision.”

In Belfast as part of the tranche of ministerial visits, David Lidington, the PM’s de facto deputy, insisted the Government's confidence and supply deal with the Democratic Unionists remained intact.

"The DUP have made it clear that they see the confidence and supply agreement as continuing.

"As with any minority Government there are going to be squalls and difficulties in a Parliament where the Government does not have an automatic majority in either House but that is not something new to British history," said the Cabinet Office Minister.

However, Tory sources suggested the relationship between the DUP and Mrs May had irretrievably broken down as the Northern Irish party now regarded her as “duplicitous”.

One Conservative MP claimed the DUP would make clear ahead of any Tory confidence vote that its confidence and supply arrangement would only continue with another Conservative leader.

"The DUP want her head on a plate," declared the backbencher.

In other developments:

*John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, called for people to join him in a three-day prayer vigil ahead of Tuesday’s Commons vote.

*Boris Johnson, the former Foreign Secretary, suggested the PM's Brexit deal was similar to the “kind of diktat” that might be imposed on a defeated side in a war; it would, he argued, lead to France using it to "plunder" UK fishing waters.

*Fresh splits emerged in the campaign for another EU referendum as Liberal Democrats tabled an amendment calling for another poll but the People’s Vote campaign branded the move “deeply unhelpful” as they want Mrs May's deal to collapse first to ensure there is maximum support for another vote on EU membership.

*This weekend campaigners predict thousands of supporters for a People’s Vote will be taking to the streets in cities and towns across Scotland.

*Labour’s Stephen Kinnock, a leading Remainer, claimed “at least 10 Cabinet ministers” were backing the so-called Norway-Plus option but the People’s Vote campaign released a report on why it would not work and could make the Brexit crisis even worse. Senior Norwegian politicians and businesses figures also rejected Norway-Plus, saying it was “neither in Norway nor the UK’s interest”. Britain would need Norway’s permission to join the EFTA club.

*A poll said almost two-thirds of voters[62 per cent] thought it would be bad for the UK to leave the EU under the terms of the May Plan, including 47 per cent of Conservatives. Only 25 per cent thought the PM’s deal would be good for Britain.