A NORTH Wales MP has thrown his weight behind calls for a second Brexit referendum after describing the UK Government’s EU negotiations as “a mess”.

The People’s Vote campaign, which is lobbying for a vote on the final deal Prime Minister Theresa May secures with the EU, is reportedly trying to secure a motion on the issue at the Labour party’s annual conference in Liverpool next month.

Among the group’s aims is to commit the party to backing a new referendum on the final deal with Brussels before Britain leaves the EU in March 2019.

Prominent backers of the campaign, which is co-chaired by anti-Brexit MPs Chuka Umunna and Anna Soubry, include Sir Patrick Stewart and Gary Lineker.

But despite his own constituency narrowly voting in favour of leaving the EU, Labour MP Albert Owen has thrown his weight behind the group’s calls for a second referendum.

In the 2016 poll, islanders voted by 19,333 to 18,618 to leave the EU, making it one of the closest results in Wales.

But according to Mr Owen, who’s represented Ynys Môn since 2001, the decision on a deal should not be one left to Parliament alone.

“It’s clear that the one thing that unites the public on the Brexit negotiations is that it is a mess, with the Government divided and the compromise Chequers Agreement unlikely to get Parliamentary or even Tory party support,” he said.

“The decision on a deal should not be left to Parliament alone and I have come to the conclusion that the best and most democratic way is for a People’s Vote on the final deal or even no deal.

“Let me be clear, I respected the 2016 EU referendum result and mandate to enter negotiations and voted to trigger Article 50, but the UK Government has failed to come up with workable solutions to Brexit.”

Mr Owen’s comments come after a motion was passed by Anglesey council earlier this year, calling for a ‘soft’ Brexit, amid fears over the impact on Holyhead port.

There have long been warnings that some of the 1,000 jobs at Holyhead could be at risk if Northern Irish ports continued to enjoy a ‘soft’ border with the Republic, while more stringent checks were implemented at ports on the British mainland.

With Holyhead handling around 320,000 trucks a year, drivers could face long delays and tailbacks on the roads unless an agreement is reached with the European Union, it has been warned.

In July, a delegation of Anglesey councillors visited Dublin for talks with the Lord Mayor of Dublin and other city officials at the Mansion House, with the international gateways of Dublin and Holyhead at the top of the list.

Mr Owen said: “The 2016 Referendum result was to get out but not to lose out and since then the facts have changed.

“Nobody knew we’d have to pay the EU a massive £40 billion divorce bill, or a no deal of stockpiles of medicines.

“In 2017 the Prime Minister held a general election to increase her parliamentary majority in order to push through a clean (hard) Brexit. The will of the people was to reject that and she lost her mandate and her parliamentary majority.

“The Prime Minister and the Government now find themselves at the mercy of the hard right / hard Brexit wing of her party and the DUP. That is not what people voted for in 2016 or 2017.

“I was clear in 2017 that we needed a sensible approach and that I would fight for that. That is not what is happening in Parliament. My constituency of Ynys Môn is on the front line of Brexit and its negotiations are heading towards a bad or no deal.

“That will be devastating for my constituents, for Wales and for the rest of the UK.

“To me it’s not about the 48% or the 52%, it’s about jobs and the living standards of the 100% of UK citizens.

“A People’s vote on the final deal would be taken with the full knowledge of the evidence. That is what is needed to resolve the Brexit mess.”