An MP has warned that it would be a disaster for the UK if Brexit talks got nowhere over the next six weeks and the topic was "allowed to drift".

Folkestone and Hythe MP Damian Collins - among eight in the county who opposed the deal that was due to be voted on - has also called for greater clarity from the government.

In a series of tweets, he said the UK’s plans for leaving the EU should not be allowed to drag on.

It comes as the Prime Minister has headed to Brussels seeking more concessions on her Brexit deal after she decided to delay Parliament's meaningful vote on the agreement due to the "significant" chance it would be rejected.

Mr Collins said: “It would be a disaster if things were allowed to drift, with the government not being clear with the EU about the position we are in and not allowing the House of Commons to have a vote on the agreement.

"We cannot afford to waste the next six weeks in talks going nowhere.”

He said the EU needed to understand that the withdrawal agreement as it stood now could not pass the House of Commons.

“Second, there has to be a legally binding power that allows the UK to leave the backstop independently - anything less will not be a credible change.”

He also questioned the idea that the UK could secure a legal letter saying the backstop could not be used indefinitely.

That would not be the same as the UK having the power to leave it independently, he said.

“We could remain in the back stop for years if we failed to agree a future trade agreement, with no clear idea of when it would end.”