Britain's departure from the European Union is at crisis point, Downing Street admitted last night.
A thousand days on from the 2016 referendum – and just ten days before the UK is due to leave the Brussels club – the EU threatened to demand a second referendum as the price for avoiding a No Deal exit next week.
Theresa May will today write to Donald Tusk asking the European Council president for what could be a lengthy delay to Brexit.
She told ministers that parliamentary opposition to No Deal, the rejection of her plan by MPs and John Bercow’s decision to block a third vote this week meant she had been forced to try to put off the March 29 departure date.
Prime Minister Theresa May sat behind her security guard as she is driven to the Houses of Parliament on Tuesday, the PM will head to Brussels tomorrow as she seeks to agree an extension to Article 50 with the European Union
Speaker John Bercow refused to answer questions over his invocation of 17th century precedent, during a stormy session of the Cabinet, the Prime Minister rounded on Mr Bercow and said he was making a laughing stock of Parliament.
Tomorrow she will travel to Brussels to establish the terms of an extension to Article 50 before putting it to the Commons next week.
During a stormy session of the Cabinet, the Prime Minister rounded on Mr Bercow for dredging up a 17th century convention in order to block a third vote on her plan. She said the Speaker was making a laughing stock of Parliament.
In the wake of his ruling, which came as a surprise to No 10, Mrs May told ministers: ‘The Speaker has framed this debate as Parliament versus the Government. But what it actually is now is Parliament versus the people.’
A Cabinet source said: ‘The only thing agreed this morning was that everyone hates Bercow.’ The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Mrs May had predicted a crisis if MPs rejected her deal for a second time, adding: ‘That situation has come to pass.’
In other developments:
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, warned the EU would attach strict conditions to any delay; Boris Johnson used face-to-face talks with Mrs May to warn her that he remains opposed to her deal; Andrea Leadsom accused Cabinet Remainers of frustrating Brexit, and hinted she could quit; Unconfirmed reports suggested the PM could make a final bid to get her deal through the Commons next Thursday – the day before Britain is due to leave; Mrs May warned the Cabinet that if a long delay is agreed, the UK would have to hold elections to the European Parliament in May; Downing Street said there were no circumstances in which Mrs May would revoke Article 50; Jeremy Corbyn and more than 100 MPs took time out from the Brexit crisis to attend the boozy British kebab awards in Westminster; Mrs May’s efforts to win DUP backing for her withdrawal plan have stalled. Angela Merkel took a swipe at Mr Bercow, saying: ‘I’ll concede that I wasn’t actively aware of the
