Updated at 2.45pm

Prime Minister Theresa May will not hold a second referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union, her spokesman said on Thursday in response to growing calls for a new vote on Brexit.

Earlier, Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage said he was warming to the idea of holding a second referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union, arguing that another vote would see "Leave" win again and end the debate.

The percentage that would vote to leave next time would be very much bigger than it was last time round

"Maybe, just maybe, I'm reaching the point of thinking that we should have a second referendum ... on EU membership," Farage told Channel Five's "The Wright Stuff" show.

"I think if we had a second referendum on EU membership we'd kill it off for a generation. The percentage that would vote to leave next time would be very much bigger than it was last time round."

Farage, a former leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), was a key figure in both the decision to hold a referendum in 2016, and the shock 52 to 48 percent outcome in favour of leaving.

Asked about Farage's comments, Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman said: "We will not be having a second referendum."

Farage's stand was taken up later on Thursday by Arron Banks, the co-founder of influential pro-Brexit campaign group Leave.EU, who said that Britain should hold a second referendum to confirm support for a clean break with the European Union.

"If we do not act radically now, we will sleepwalk into a faux Brexit, in name only. True Brexiteers have been backed into a corner and the only option now is to go back to the polls and let the people shout from the rooftops their support of a true Brexit," Banks said in a statement. "Leave would win by a landslide."

Britons remain divided over the leaving the EU, with some, including former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair saying the decision should be overturned. A number of lawmakers are arguing for a second public vote on the terms of the exit deal.