ERG members reach out and secretly call on EU nations to BLOCK Brexit extension
ERG members secretly calling on EU countries to veto any Brexit extension
Brexit: Paterson reveals plan to leave EU with free trade deal
The backbench MPs have forced through the undercover initiative led by Daniel Kawczynski, Craig Mackinlay and former Cabinet minister Owen Paterson. If one of the EU’s 27 states votes against Britain’s request to delay Article 50, the UK would likely leave the EU by the end of next week. Mr Mackinlay has held several meetings with senior members in the Hungarian government, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Mr Paterson has spoken with figures in the Czech government while Mr Kawczynski spoke to members of the Polish government.
However, the Slovakian government did not respond to an attempted talk, one source revealed.
One of the MPs told the paper: “I am not sure how successful it has been but we tried.
“It was a thought, it was worth pursuing, worth having a chat. It was a reach-out."
READ MORE: No deal plan WILL be implemented if no delay agreed by Monday
Mr Kawczynski said he has held “numerous rounds of conversations and discussions with senior members of the Polish government”.
He said: "I have been reaching out to friends in the Polish government over the telephone, in private meetings, they have been here to meet me in London and I have been there in Warsaw.
"I have tried to urge them it is neither in their interests not in the interests of the United Kingdom for a protracted extension.
“We have been lobbying very very extensively."
Brexit: Daniel Kawczynski reveals why he's backing May's deal
The ERG warned Theresa May they would end her career if she attempts to delay Brexit.
Up to 20 of the group’s core members will carry out “vote strikes” which could topple Mrs May’s minority government, according to The Sun.
Eurosceptics fear she could delay Brexit for longer than the suggested June 30 date.
Mrs May threatened MPs would face a lengthy Brexit deal if they did not vote through her deal.