David Cameron says second Brexit referendum cannot be ruled out

Former Prime Minister David Cameron has said a second Brexit referendum cannot be ruled out.

In an interview with The Times, he said: "I don’t think you can rule it out because we’re stuck.”

Mr Cameron - who called the 2016 referendum and campaigned for Remain - said that while he wasn't backing a second EU poll, it remains a possibility "because you’ve got to find some way of unblocking the blockage".

He also said he opposed Boris Johnson's decision to suspend Parliament until mid-October: "I think proroguing parliament – pretending it doesn’t exist – I think that would be a bad thing.”

And with Mr Johnson insisting the UK will leave the EU on October 31 with or without an agreement, Mr Cameron said no-deal would be a "bad outcome" for the country and that "I don't think it should be pursued".

Of Mr Johnson, who Mr Cameron accused of "trashing" the government during the 2016 campaign, he added: "Look, he's got a very clear strategy and plan. It's, you know, not the approach that I would have taken, but I want him to succeed."

He also told the paper he did not support the removal of the whip from numerous Tory MPs for rebelling against Mr Johnson's progogation plans.

He said: "Of course, as a new Prime Minister, I wished Boris well. I wanted him to get a deal from the EU that would have passed in the House of Commons.

"If that was to happen, I would have been elated. But clearly, while he started out down that road, the strategy has morphed into something quite different.

"Taking the whip from hard-working Conservative MPs and sharp practices using prorogation of Parliament have rebounded. I didn't support either of those things."

Mr Johnson, who was today angrily confronted on a walkabout in Doncaster and heckled during a speech in Rotherham, said he is "cautiously optimistic" of getting a Brexit deal.

The Prime Minister is preparing for talks with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker on Monday. It will be their first meeting since Mr Johnson became Prime Minister in July.