MICHAEL Gove was last night forced to deny claims of a Brexit betrayal after attending a secret summit to discuss its “failings”.
Allies of the Levelling Up Secretary blamed “embittered Remainers” for a hostile briefing that suggested he was having doubts.
Sources told the left-wing Observer newspaper that while the Cabinet Minister stuck by his Leave vote he was “honest” about its shortcomings.
Eurosceptics feared that senior politicians - including top Labour MPs - had gathered to plot closer alignment with Brussels.
Ex-Cabinet Minister Sir John Redwood tweeted: “Every time the UK makes concessions to the EU they see it as weakness and treat us like a wayward dependent state.
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“Time for the UK to show some independent spirit.
“Instead of talking of selling out at private conferences, the UK establishment needs to complete Brexit and use its freedoms.”
But pals last night insisted Mr Gove - a chief architect of Vote Leave - held no regrets and accused opponents of twisting the truth.
They told the Sun: “This seems like a sad attempt by embittered Remainers to try and undermine Brexit.
“Michael has no ‘bregrets’ and set out the massive opportunities we can seize now we are no longer chained to the EU.”
And he was understood to actually be surprised to see not even arch-Remainers were pushing for closer ties with Brussels.
Friends said Mr Gove attended the meeting at Oxfordshire’s Ditchley Park estate in his capacity as a governor.
Also at the event was Labour’s shadow foreign secretary David Lammy, shadow defence secretary John Healey and party grandee Lord Peter Mandelson.
Labour was also keen to squash speculation of a Remainer roundtable as Sir Keir Starmer tries to convince voters he will not betray Brexit.
A party spokesman played down the summit as a “bog standard Ditchley Park conference” where politicians across parties gather for discussions.
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Last week’s “private discussion” was on the subject “can we make Brexit work better with our neighbours in Europe”.
Brexiteers like former Tory leader Lord Michael Howard and former Tory chancellor Lord Norman Lamont also attended, as well as Remainer business bosses.
Eurosceptics are already jittery about Brexit concessions after reports emerged last year of Ministers plotting a Swiss-style relationship with the bloc that could bring closer ties.
Rishi Sunak insisted he will not pursue any deal “that relies on alignment with EU laws”.
