May expected to ask for Brexit extension
Theresa May is to send a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk seeking an extension of her country's departure from the European Union.
It's to take it beyond a March 29 deadline.
Earlier Mrs May's spokesman had said the letter would be sent either on Tuesday or Wednesday.
She is expected to ask the European Union to delay Brexit by at least three months after her plan to hold a third vote on her fraught divorce deal was thrown into disarray by a surprise intervention from the speaker of parliament.
Nearly three years after Britain voted narrowly to leave the EU, its departure is uncertain and increasingly impatient European capitals are pressing May to spell out how she plans to resolve the crisis before they can agree to an extension.
Possible eventual outcomes still range from a long postponement, leaving with May's deal, a disruptive exit without a deal, or even another referendum.
Ten days before the March 29 exit date that May set, and two days before a crucial EU summit, she was on Tuesday writing to European Council President Donald Tusk to ask for a delay, her spokesman said. He did not disclose how long a delay she would seek, but said she believed it should be as short as possible.
May had earlier warned parliament that if it did not ratify her deal, she would ask to delay Brexit beyond June 30, a step that Brexit's advocates fear would endanger the entire divorce.
Other EU member states were discussing two main options: a delay of two to three months, if May persuades them she can clinch a deal at home, or much longer if she accepts that radical reworking of the accord is needed.
The EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, said an extension would only make sense if it increased the chances of May's deal being ratified by Britain's House of Commons.
Published: by Radio NewsHub