JEREMY HUNT risked a new Brexit backlash last night by warning an “ugly” No Deal would be a historic mistake politically.

The Foreign Secretary said Britain would find a way to “prosper and thrive” if trade talks with the EU collapse.

But he said that given the threats posed by nations such as Russia a “messy, ugly divorce” would be a “mistake we would regret for generations” in the diplomatic sense.

“It would be a huge geo-strategic mistake,” he told ITV.

“This is a situation where countries with similar values need to be standing together on the world stage and we want a deal with the EU that means we really can have a deep and special partnership.”

The comments risk inflaming the tensions between the Cabinet and Tory Eurosceptics who want Theresa May to ditch her soft Brexit ‘Chequers’ plan.

Mr Hunt insisted the Chequers compromise had opened doors in the EU – and that it could form the basis for a trade agreement.

He said: “There are some early signs of real pragmatic engagement in that White Paper plan proposed at Chequers.”

The comments came at the end of a three-day trip of Northern Europe - and sparked a bitter reaction from arch-Brexiteers.

Last night, Eurosceptic Tory MP Conor Burns said: “The thing we want to avoid for ‘generations to come’ is being locked into a permanent orbit around the EU where we end up with a deal but don’t have a seat around the table.

“It’s barmy.”