Nigel Farage's surprise call for Britain to prepare for a second EU referendum has ignited hopes among anti-Brexit campaigners that both sides of the debate will back a poll on Theresa May's final deal.

The former Ukip leader shocked his colleagues on Thursday by suggesting another Brexit vote should be held, arguing it would lead to a more decisive victory for the leave campaign and silence remain supporters for a generation.

On Friday, he said he was calling on the leave side to prepare for a second vote because of the likelihood that one would be brought about when, as he expected, parliament rejected the deal eventually struck with the EU.

His intervention was seized on by those who believe another referendum is the best way of overturning the result, including the former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg and the Labour peer Andrew Adonis, as it was seen as a sign that political pressure is building for a poll on the final deal.