Tories banned from foreign trips between now and the election over fears of Labour narrowing party lead in polls

Tory ministers have been banned from going on foreign trips between now and next week’s election after a batch of polls showed the party’s lead over Labour is narrowing.

One minister was due to travel to Brussels this week for key Brexit-related discussions but No 10 told him to cancel the trip.

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But the ban wasn’t in place last week when Theresa May still enjoyed a healthy lead over Jeremy Corbyn - allowing International Trade Secretary Liam Fox to make a trade visit to Japan.

The travel ban contradicts Downing Street’s claim that the snap election would not disrupt Brexit preparations.

The meeting in Brussels this week was seen as crucial groundwork ahead of the official start of Brexit negotiations on June 19.

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A YouGov poll over the weekend showed Labour had slashed the Tory lead from over 20 points at the start of the election campaign to just 5 per cent.