The chairman of the Welsh Affairs committee David Davies has likened the United Kingdom to the Titanic, claiming it is now "just a question of how long it takes to sink".
The Welsh Tory MP made the claim after taking evidence from a commission set up to examine the possibility of devolving more powers to Wales.
He told its chairman, Paul Silk, the organisation should write its report calling for further devolution now and save taxpayers the £1m cost after raising concerns about the impartiality of consultation.
Of the 450 individuals and organisations that have been asked to give evidence to the commission, the "majority" will "be on record as favouring more powers" for the assembly, Davies said.
"Could I suggest we could save £1 million by you issuing a report now calling for lots of extra powers for the Welsh Assembly, which is inevitably going to happen anyway," he added.
Outside the committee Davies went further, telling reporters "the UK is like the Titanic" and claiming it is "holed below the waterline".
He added: "It's just a question of how long it takes to sink."
Silk insisted consultees had not been "chosen on that basis" but conceded there were difficulties in finding groups that opposed further devolution - a problem that had been highlighted in last year's referendum on law making powers.
He told the committee: "I think one of the problems at the time of the referendum was that there wasn't a body speaking speaking on behalf of the no campaign in the way in which there were bodies speaking for the yes campaign.
"I'm sure you are right that that is something that will, in a sense, be replicated in the evidence that is given to us because there aren't - other than True Wales - representative bodies of sceptics of the devolution process.
"But we have written to all elected members in Wales and there are certainly some sceptics among those."
The Silk Commission is examining a range of options for devolution - with the first on its "to do" list being whether the Welsh Government should take further responsibility for raising the money it spends.
At present, it gets its funding from a single block grant from the UK Treasury.
Davies pressed the commission on whether it was learning the lessons on the eurozone "fandango" when looking at future borrowing arrangements for Wales.
Silk, a former clerk to the House of Commons and the Welsh Assembly, told MPs he was "certainly open" to hearing the experiences of the single currency "where it is relevant".