Rory Stewart says some Conservative MPs “don’t seem to be ready” for warnings he has made about the effect of a no-deal Brexit.
The freshly eliminated leadership contender said some of his warnings “probably proved to be truths that people weren’t quite ready to hear”.
Mr Stewart, who was knocked out of the race after the third ballot of MPs, added: “We don’t have to try to appease the Nigel Farage, Brexit Party side of our party – or Jeremy Corbyn.
“The long-term future of our party and our country must be in the centre ground of politics.”