HEXHAM’S MP Guy Opperman was captured on camera asking campaigners, calling on him to prevent a no-deal Brexit, to move on.

Campaign group 38 Degrees launched its Take Back Control campaign in Hexham on Saturday, with Mr Opperman’s name and email address emblazoned on a mobile billboard, which demanded the MP took action to prevent a no-deal Brexit.

This week, Mr Opperman confirmed he did speak to the driver of the mobile billboard, but only to ask him to free up the parking bays he was occupying.

He said: “On Saturday, I finished a surgery, got a coffee before the next one and saw the van parked up blocking the loading bay.

“I said to the driver, ‘I don’t mind you demonstrating, but please don’t block the loading bay for our shops’. He said he was not moving, as he was waiting for people. I left.

“For the record, I have voted three times for a negotiated deal to leave the EU.

“The only way to avoid a no-deal exit from the EU is to vote for a deal. It would be nice if Labour and the Liberal Democrats would accept that and abide by the democratic decision of the country.”

Campaign group 38 Degrees said it had chosen Hexham to highlight the impact a no-deal Brexit would have on the local economy. Campaigns director, Ellie Gellard, said CBI analysis suggested the North-East would be worst hit by a no-deal, which could amount to an annual loss of £7bn by 2034 with manufacturing, construction and wholesale and retail sectors most affected.

She said that would be a particular concern in Hexham where10 per cent of jobs in the constituency were in manufacturing.

“A no-deal Brexit could see Britain’s manufacturing sector brought to its knees,” she said. “Whether we voted leave or remain, no-one voted for this.”