BRECON and Radnorshire MP Chris Davies has said he has continued to back PM Theresa May through Brexit negotiations as "no deal remains on the table".
The Conservative is a member of the European Research Group (ERG) faction of Conservative MPs who were blamed for Mrs May’s latest Commons defeat.
MPs voted against a motion endorsing the government’s strategy by 303 to 258, with 66 Tory MPs abstaining.
But Mr Davies, who has declared himself a reluctant supporter of Mrs May’s withdrawal deal with the European Union since she first announced it in November, did vote in support of the government yesterday.
He told BBC Radio Wales’ Good Morning Wales Programme today: "I did support the deal yesterday because I was happily convinced by Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay that no deal is still very much on the table, unfortunately that didn’t satisfy several of my colleagues."
Mr Davies said Mr Barclay has also given the same message to the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbench MPs.
Mr Davies has already been criticised by political rivals locally for failing to support a vote in the House of Commons to rule out no deal.
But the Conservative who has said he has backed Mrs May’s deal as it will deliver for important local industries including farming, tourism and manufacturing, also told the programme he remains concerned about the contentious Northern Ireland backstop arrangements.
He said however he wants to see the issue of Britain leaving the EU put to bed. He said: "We need to get Brexit over and done with so we can get on with life and get everyone back together.’
He claimed Mrs May is making progress in talks with the EU and was disappointed MPs hadn’t backed her in the Commons but dismissed the significance of yet another defeat for the PM and told the station: "Yesterday was a protest vote."