Farage 'should have led the Brexit talks' - Tory MP

By Aubrey Allegretti, political reporter, in Birmingham
Nigel Farage should have been given a peerage and appointed chief Brexit negotiator after Britain voted to leave the EU, a Conservative MP has said.
Wellingborough MP Peter Bone hailed the former UKIP leader, and insisted that "we would have been out by now" if Mr Farage had been leading talks with the EU.Speaking at a Leave Means Leave rally in Solihull - just 20 minutes from the official Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham - Mr Bone and Mr Farage joined forces with other prominent Brexit campaigners.They called on Prime Minister Theresa May to "chuck" her Chequers plan for the UK's divorce from the EU.

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Tory MP Peter Bone told activists to 'pester' their MPs for a 'proper Brexit'
Mr Bone urged campaigners to "pester your MP and tell them you want a proper Brexit", but warned them "time is limited”.Andrea Jenkyns, a Tory backbench MP dubbed a "rising star" at the event, compared the government to a "Reliant Robin" in an echo of Boris Johnson’s claim that ministers are heading into battle "with a white flag fluttering over our main tank".

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Mr Farage complained it was clear the prime minister wanted to "keep us wrapped up in European rules".He also mocked the Conservatives' security breach at the beginning of their annual conference, which saw senior cabinet ministers' mobile phone numbers leaked.