London:Indian-origin Conservative party lawmaker and former UK Cabinet minister Priti Patel is among 20 party rebels who are challenging British Prime Minister Theresa Mays Brexit strategy with a Stand Up 4 Brexit campaign.
The grassroots drive against any negotiations with the European Union (EU) that could lead to a so-called soft Brexit is being backed by another ex-minister Ian Duncan Smith and is expected to mount pressure on May to ditch her Chequers plan, which is rejected by Eurosceptic lawmakers within her Conservative party.
Stand Up 4 Brexit supporters, who also include former foreign secretary Boris Johnsons key ally Tory lawmaker Conor Burns, pledge to fight plans to keep the EU rules on British goods and free movement in terms of migration.
Patel, a leading pro-Brexit voice in the lead up to the referendum in favor of Britains exit from the EU in June 2016, has previously called on the government to be tougher in its negotiations with Brussels.
The Stand Up 4 Brexit campaign is building momentum as Mr Johnson, the poster boy for the pro-Brexit camp, launched a scathing attack on Theresa Mays plans in his weekly newspaper column in The Daily Telegraphon Monday, saying the approach agreed at Chequers means disaster for Britain.
