Theresa May’s newly appointed pensions secretary has moved quickly to undermine a full ‘no-deal’ Brexit, claiming Parliament will block a “no deal” exit from the European Union (EU), with the Prime Minister echoing that view just hours later.

The prime minister has long insisted Brexit will happen and a “no deal is better than a bad deal”; however, Amber Rudd suggested Wednesday morning that a “no Brexit” was more likely than no deal.

Addressing Brexiteer Tory rebels considering voting against Mrs May’s final deal, the new Work and Pensions Secretary said that “Brexiters may lose their Brexit” and new amendments contrary to the Brexit cause could be added if it were rejected.

“I think what the country needs now is the certainty of an orderly exit,” she told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4.

Asked whether the alternative choice was to leave the EU without a deal or trigger a second referendum, Ms Rudd replied:

“It is my view Parliament, the House of Commons, will stop ‘no deal’. There is not a majority in the House of Commons to allow that to take place.”

Ms Rudd made a similar argument to Channel 4, and Labour’s Brexit spokesman Sir Keir Starmer, who is pushing to stop the UK’s exit from the bloc, was quick to praise her.

Just hours later the Prime Minister was challenged in the House of Commons over Rudd’s comments by Brexiteer Esther McVey who resigned from May’s government last week.

Being called upon to confirm the United Kingdom would definitely be leaving the European Union in March 2019 “come what may” by the Eurosceptic backbencher, May avoided giving a direct answer and said instead if MPs voted down her deal it could “risk no Brexit at all.”

Ms Rudd only returned to the Cabinet last week following the resignation of Dominic Raab and Esther McVey in protest of Mrs May’s Brexit withdrawal proposals, having originally stood down over an immigration scandal.

Mr Raab, the former Brexit minister, said Wednesday in an article for The Telegraph that the UK could indeed still leave without a deal and would not have to pay the agree £39 billion divorce deal.

However, improving the deal was still the best option, he said, after arguing against elements of Mrs May’s deal that could leave the UK tied to EU rules indefinitely.

He said: “There is still time to salvage the negotiations, by making a best final offer that addresses these failings.

“To be taken seriously, we must be willing to walk away – taking our £39 billion with us. That means being honest with the public.

“No deal does involve some risk of short-term disruption, which we can manage or mitigate. But the deal on the table would inflict long-term damage – from which we would struggle to recover – and stifle the opportunities that Brexit offers.”