David Davis last night flatly rejected “anti-democratic” demands for a second European Union referendum or for MPs to hold a vote allowing them to block the referendum result.
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Former Cabinet minister Peter Lilley urged the Government to get Britain out as soon as possible.
“We are none the wiser about the government’s plans after David Davis’s statement”.
Speaking at a news conference following the conclusion of the two-day meeting of the world’s leading economies in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, May said she and Abe had agreed to work together to maintain and build on their countries’ relationship.
More than 1,000 Japanese companies do business in Britain, employing some 140,000 local people, many of them lured by the access the country offered to the European Union and its single market of hundreds of millions of consumers.
A poll for BBC Radio 5Live, conducted by the polling firm ComRes, suggests 62% of the 1,032 British adults canvassed say they are positive about Britain’s future post-Brexit. On the other hand, 26 per cent of those spoken to have considered leaving the United Kingdom and moving elsewhere – including 43 per cent of 18-34 year olds.
SNP MP Ian Blackford, a member of the Petitions Committee, will open the debate on Monday although he declined to comment ahead of his speech.
But the man who started the petition, Oliver Healey, has claimed that it has been “hijacked” by Remain supporters.
The House of Commons’ Petitions Committee announced an investigation and later denied its site had been hacked after confirming tens of thousands of signatures were “fraudulently” added.
Monday’s debate will not alter the outcome of the referendum since the rules by which it was held were agreed by Parliament and can not be changed retrospectively.
Davis added: “She was concerned that a points-based system was actually too open ended, that it did not actually put a control on the number of people coming to the United Kingdom and therefore she wanted something which sounded like it would more rigorous, not less”.
“It means getting the best deal for Britain – one that’s unique to Britain and not an off-the-shelf solution”.
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She said: “Whether we were on the side of Remain or Leave, I think we should be on the side of doing things in the interests of the British public”. “The government have been clear that this was a once in a generation vote and the decision must be respected”.
