London (CNN) One of Theresa May's most senior cabinet ministers has raised the prospect of a second referendum to break the Brexit deadlock, as speculation over the future of the beleaguered UK prime minister and her twice-defeated divorce bill reaches fever pitch. A day after hundreds of thousands marched in central London to demand another public vote, Chancellor Phillip Hammond said a second referendum - likely to be one of the options put to lawmakers in the coming days - was a "coherent proposition" that deserves consideration. His comments signal a clear break from May's repeated refusal to allow the British public a second poll on Brexit, and mark the first time a senior Cabinet minister has spoken about such a move as a viable possibility. The Chancellor confirmed parliament would vote on a series of alternative Brexit options this week, and acknowledged that May will be unlikely to salvage her own plan, which lawmakers have already crushed by historic proportions on two occasions. "One way or another Parliament is going to have the opportunity this week to decide what it is in favor of, and I hope that it will take that opportunity -- if it can't get behind the Prime Minister's deal -- to say clearly and unambiguously what it can get behind," Hammond told Sky News.

Source: CNN March 24, 2019 10:18 UTC