Talks between the government and Labour on Brexit will resume later as MPs return to Westminster following the Easter break.
Cabinet ministers will meet senior opposition figures in an attempt to solve the impasse by finding a deal that could win the support of MPs.
But some Tory MPs are angry the talks with Labour are even taking place.
Leading backbencher Nigel Evans called on Theresa May to step down as prime minister “as soon as possible”.
The joint executive secretary of the back bench 1922 Committee and MP for Ribble Valley told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The only way we’re going to break this impasse properly is if we have fresh leadership of the Conservative Party…
“If there was an announcement today by the prime minister then of course we could start the process straight away.”
He said Mrs May “had been reaching out to the Labour Party and Jeremy Corbyn, when she should have been reaching out to the people”.
But Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said Theresa May was doing a “good job” and deserved “praise not blame”.
“The idea somehow that some new fresh leader with extraordinary charm and nimble feet would be able to suddenly get the deal across the line is mistaken,” he told the BBC.
“It’s nothing to do with the individual, it’s that people disagree deeply about Brexit.”
