May's let EU 'blackmail and bully' Britain, ex-Brexit minister says

May was speaking at the end of a tumultuous week in which May presented her draft agreement on how the UK would leave the EU, a deal that sparked multiple resignations from her government, including that of Raab.

"These negotiations have been tough right from the start," May told Sky News on Sunday, "but they were always going to get more difficult towards the end."

She defended her deal as "what's right for the people of this country" and "the national interest."

"That's what drives me and that's what I am being driven to deliver," she said, adding: "I think that's what this deal does."

With her own leadership reportedly under threat from rebellious MPs, a defiant May denied she had thought about quitting and reiterated that the UK will leave the EU on March 29, 2019.

At least 21 Conservative MPs have publicly submitted letters of no-confidence in May and demanded that she step aside. A total of 48 letters are needed to trigger a party leadership election that could topple her as prime minister.

The UK 'will not be blackmailed or bullied'

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Raab -- whose decision to quit the Cabinet triggered the resignation of several other government ministers -- said the UK should demand a deal that would allow the country to leave the Customs Union unilaterally.

"I don't think we should look like we're afraid of our own shadow. We need to be going out there and grasping opportunities," he told the paper.

"If we cannot close this deal on reasonable terms we need to be very honest with the country that we will not be bribed and blackmailed or bullied and we will walk away."

Raab later told the BBC he would vote against the Brexit deal in parliament, but had not submitted a letter of no confidence in the Prime Minister.

Brexit referendum 'an option for the future'

Meanwhile, Corbyn, also speaking on Sky News, touted the possibility of a general election and claimed a second Brexit referendum was "an option for the future."

Corbyn said if May's Brexit agreement comes to Parliament in its current state the Labour Party would vote against it.

"We do not believe it serves the interests of the country therefore the government would have to go back to the EU and renegotiate."

Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon also told the BBC her party would vote against it.

If Labour and other opposition MPs all vote in line with what their party leaders said Sunday, and Conservative rebels join them, the government could lose the parliamentary vote -- throwing the Brexit process into further disarray.

CNN's Max Ramsay and Richard Allen Greene contributed to this report.

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