SIR MICHAEL FALLON has been very quiet since his fall from grace a year ago.

The former Defence Secretary and Darlington MP was considered to be ultra-loyal to the Conservative Party and so that he should choose now to break his silence and savage Theresa May’s Brexit deal is an extremely painful blow for the Prime Minister.

Sir Michael’s criticism has a ring of truth. He said the deal is a “huge gamble” as the UK will give up its say in the drawing up of EU rules but it will remain bound by them. He called it “the worst of both worlds” – neither at the top table nor free to open the door and leave.

Even US president Donald Trump’s criticism has a ring of truth. If we are tied to EU’s regulations, we clearly won’t be able to do deals with the US. This also exposes how difficult it will be for us “to take back control”, because if we do free ourselves from EU regulations, we’re then going to tie ourselves to new US-led regulations.

The truth is that Brexit is a huge gamble with our nation’s prosperity. Mrs May’s compromise is her attempt to minimise the odds, but new figures suggest that even her deal will leave our economy 5.5 per cent smaller in 10 years time than if we had remained.

Poor Mrs May looks a lonely figure as she trudges around the country trying to drum up support. The last time Mrs May went solo to the country, it ended badly in the General Election. This time looks equally doomed. Her stubbornness is often commendable, but in the face of looming defeat, she must have a plan B.