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A Brexit minister has hit out at "fake news" as the Government attempts to clarify its stance on animal welfare laws.

Steve Baker, who works in the Department for Exiting the EU, joined other Tory MPs in criticising the reporting of last week's vote on key Brexit legislation.

By defeating a proposed amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill, it had been claimed Conservatives had voted to deny animals feel pain or emotions.

Green Party leader Caroline Lucas had tried to include a new clause to the legislation to allow the transfer of EU rules into UK laws, so that animals continue to be recognised as sentient beings under domestic legislation.

The Government argued animals are already classed as sentient beings in existing legislation and that including the proposed clause in the EU Withdrawal Bill would lead to "legal uncertainty".

But a string of celebrities reacted with fury to the Government's defeat of the amendment.

TV presenter Ben Fogle claimed the vote showed 313 MPs "don't care" how animals are treated, while comedian Sue Perkins branded the Government "shameful bds" who were denying animal sentience.

Both shared online newspaper reports headlined "MPs voted 'that animals cannot feel pain or emotions'".

Mr Baker has since asked whether another report rejecting the claims, by the Guido Fawkes blog, will prove similarly popular online.

He posted on Twitter: "Will this exposé of the animal sentience fake news story go viral? It should."

The Brexit minister spoke out after Environment Secretary Michael Gove made a written statement to Parliament seeking to clarify the Government's stance.

He said: "It has been suggested that the vote last week on New Clause 30 of the EU Withdrawal Bill somehow signalled a weakening in the protection of animals - that is wrong.

"Voting against the amendment was not a vote against the idea that animals are sentient and feel pain - that is a misconception."

Branding the defeated EU Withdrawal Bill amendment "faulty", Mr Gove added: "This Government will ensure that any necessary changes required to UK law are made in a rigorous and comprehensive way to ensure animal sentience is recognised after we leave the EU.

"The Withdrawal Bill is not the right place to address this, however we are considering the right legislative vehicle."

But Labour's shadow environment secretary Sue Hayman branded Mr Gove's statement "totally inadequate", adding: "If the Government are serious about animal welfare, they should reverse their decision and amend the EU Withdrawal Bill without further delay."

The RSPCA welcomed Mr Gove's reassurance on animal welfare, but also called for a specific commitment to animal sentience to be added to the Brexit legislation.

Mr Fogle, a UN patron of the wilderness, posted on Twitter that he is "happy to apologise and add clarity" about his previous comments on the issue, but "will criticise the confusion that pervaded around 'assumed' sentience within the bill".

"I don't believe the Government communicated well enough," he added.