Ministers urged to sack Lord Heseltine after he vows to join Brexit rebellion in Lords over Article 50

Lord Heseltine should be sacked from his role as a Government advisor after vowing to lead a Tory rebellion over Brexit, Tory MPs have said. 

The former Cabinet Minister has promised to rebel against Theresa May over Brexit and back opposition efforts in the House of Lords to ensure a meaningful vote on the final outcome of exit negotiations.

While the peer insisted that he is not engaging in a "confrontation" with the Government, he suggested it would be "unwise" for the Prime Minister to deny Parliament a vote.

He said Labour, Liberal Democrat and rebellious Tory colleagues ready to back a change to the Brexit Bill simply want to uphold the Supreme Court's ruling that MPs and peers have ultimate authority.

Ministers have warned that backing the move will increase the possibility of a legal challenge against Brexit.

Andrew Bridgen, the MP for North West Leicestershire, told the Telegraph: "It is difficult to see how he can stay on as an advisor to a Secretary of State when he is leading a rebellion against Government policy.

"Lord Heseltine is a much respected beast of the Conservative Party, but the political environment has changed and we all know what happens to big beast who can't adapt- they become extinct." 

Phillip Davies MP added: "Any Conservative Parliamentarian who holds any type of role with the Government is expected to vote with the Government. 

"If Lord Heseltine is going to rebel and encourage others to do so then his role in DCLG becomes untenable and if he doesn't resign he must be sacked."

A Labour Lords source said the party "would be likely to win handsomely" and inflict defeat on the Government on the issue, as well as in an effort to guarantee rights of EU nationals already in the UK.

A vote on whether Parliament should have a meaningful say on the final deal is not expected during the European Union (Notification Of Withdrawal) Bill's committee stage next week, but is more likely during report stage on March 7, the source said.

Writing in the Mail On Sunday, Lord Heseltine said: "In the end the outcome of Brexit will have to be confirmed by Parliament. It will also have to pass in 27 national European parliaments, several sub-national parliaments and the European Parliament.

"It was perhaps unwise for our Government to suppose that our Parliament should be excluded where all others were included. Very sensibly, after the Supreme Court interpreted the law, that position was reversed and Parliament was restored to its rightful constitutional role as the ultimate authority.

"I will vote in the House of Lords to ensure that position is legally intact. This is not a confrontation with the Government which has already made such a commitment.

"It is, put simply, a decision to ensure that the Commons has the chance to define its role in the exercise of its authority over what most people regard as the defining issue of our time."

Road to Brexit | Article 50 and the House of Lords