Insiders claimed that our last chance to leave the EU disappeared on March 29 – the original departure date – and the referendum result could now be cancelled altogether. There is “zero chance” that talks between the Prime Minister and Labour will succeed, one Cabinet minister said, as other sources warned Brexit now faces being “killed off in slow stages”. Brexiteers dismissed the claims as “wishful thinking by Remainers”. Instead they vowed to keep fighting until we leave the EU, with one promising to “finish the job and change politics in Britain for good”. But ministers believe that Brexit can only be saved if there is a new leader and an election to refresh Parliament. The concerns have come as talks between Conservative ministers and Jeremy Corbyn’s front bench are set to continue this week in a bid to break the deadlock.

However a senior Cabinet minister said: “These talks are going nowhere. There is zero chance that they will succeed.”

With little hope of an acceptable compromise from the talks, many ministers and senior figures around Theresa May now believe that Brexit is going to be “killed off in slow stages” by a Remainer dominated Parliament and its pro-Remain Speaker John Bercow.

The despair has come after new legislation effectively killed off the chance of a no-deal.

They also point out that European Council President Donald Tusk had said there could be a series of further delays after the latest cut off point on October 31.

Government sources believe the political momentum will move on to revoking Article 50 because it is impossible to hold a second referendum before the end of October.

A source said: “This means minds will focus on revoke as being the way out for Remainers and they will move off the second referendum.”

A Cabinet minister said: “Most of us did not want no-deal but we just had to keep it on the table because without it we could not force a proper deal. Now we have nothing.

“There is no incentive for the EU to give us anything and we just end up staying in.”

Another senior figure said: “Brexit is dead. The chances for Brexit died on March 29 when MPs had their last chance to accept the deal.

“It meant we are stuck in perpetual delays and the debate is going to move from a second referendum to revocation [of Article 50].”

The source added: “The problem is that it [Brexit] has become a national embarrassment so people will just want it to go away.” Another Cabinet minister said that the only way to save Brexit is for there to be a new prime minister and an early election.

The minister added: “We are in a weird place. Nothing can be done or decided.

“Parliament is out of control because of the 2017 election, nobody can be sacked from the government whatever they do, but nobody can agree on a way forward. We need a new [Conservative] leader who will then have to take us into an election to break the deadlock with a new Brexit policy.”

Sources close to Mrs May blame both Remainers, the majority in Parliament, and Brexiteer members of the European Research Group, who opposed her deal.

One minister said: “The irony is that Brexiteers have helped potentially kill Brexit.

“If they had backed the deal we would be out by now with control over our laws, fishing, farming and many other areas.

“We could have negotiated a proper trade deal and the [Northern Ireland] backstop would not have mattered a jot.”

However, Nigel Farage, who launched his new Brexit Party on Friday, said the referendum result must be honoured.

He said: “Remainers bang on about how close that result was, but I disagree.

“We won by a number that is equivalent to the population of Birmingham.

“By any standards that is a substantial margin of victory. The will of most British people is crystal clear.”

Senior Tory Brexiteers on the backbenches also warned that the country has not given up on Brexit.

Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns, who was the first person to quit the government over Brexit, said: “The Prime Minister herself has said countless times Brexit means Brexit, no deal is better than a bad deal.

“If the Government thinks Brexit is dead they obviously need to spend more time outside the M25.

“Brexit belongs to the people, the largest democratic decision ever taken must be delivered upon.

“We haven’t left the EU yet due to the lack of an acceptable deal, and the Government breaking its promises.

“The Government must bring back a deal that respects the referendum result or leave on WTO [World Trade Organisation] rules.

“It’s the current deal that is dead, the British people want Brexit, and they will not be ignored.”

Wellingborough MP Peter Bone said: “This could be a bit of wishful thinking by people in Government especially those around Theresa May who never wanted Brexit anyway.

“But if they think Brexit is dead they really are trapped in the Westminster bubble.

“I have been knocking on doors and was at a dinner last night and people were asking me why we have not had Brexit yet.

“They want us to just get on with it and leave the EU.

“It is obvious to me that people in the country have not given up and they will be punishing us at the polls as a result of what has been going on.” Another Tory MP told the Sunday Express that he was in “total despair” over the failure to deliver Brexit.

He said: “We really have been made to look like idiots.

“We should have just passed the deal and then changed leaders and negotiated a proper agreement. It was so simple.”

A new Opinium poll has appeared to confirm a collapse in support for the Conservatives, with the party down six points to 29 per cent while Labour is up one to 36 per cent. Ukip is in third place on 11 per cent, up two.

Despite the concerns, last night the Government insisted that “positive talks” with Labour could still come up with a solution.

A Downing Street source said: “These talks have been constructive and serious, and both sides want to see further progress over the Easter recess.

“If we can keep up the pace of negotiations, we can get a deal over the line and avoid participating in the European Parliamentary elections.”

But the sticking point is Labour’s demand that the UK enters a permanent customs union with the EU. This would mean that Britain could not have trade deals with the rest of the world and Brussels would control access to our markets.

A senior Whitehall source said: “The problem is Labour is demanding something the EU has already refused. They seem to think we can join a customs union but still do trade deals, it’s delusional and is just not going to be allowed.”

Labour also is pushing for a second referendum and there is a compromise on the table from ministers to allow a vote in Parliament on the issue.

In a bid to move the talks on, a series of Tory and Labour working groups will be set up on different issues this week. Politicians from both sides are due to meet to negotiate in a series of new working groups on specific issues.

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