Brexit: Theresa May to ask EU for a "short" extension to Article 50

With March 29 fast approaching, the Prime Minister was denied a third vote on her withdrawal agreement after an intervention from Speaker of the House John Bercow.

READ MORE: What powers does the House of Commons Speaker have?

A tetchy Cabinet meeting held yesterday failed to yield an agreement on how long of a delay May should ask for.

But according to a Downing Street source, the Prime Minister will now seek a short delay to the process, believed to be no longer than three months.

The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said yesterday that a delay to the Brexit process may not be permitted.

READ MORE: Downing Street left scrambling as EU links Brexit delay to vote or election

Meanwhile, Mairead McGuinness MEP, vice-president of the European Parliament, said she expected the EU will be willing to grant a Brexit extension if the purpose is clear, but warned there are concerns over continued uncertainty from a "rolling cliff-edge".

"We're still waiting to see what the letter from the Prime Minister will contain ... the speculation is for a short extension," she told BBC Breakfast.

"Michel Barnier yesterday was quite clear in that of course everything will be considered, but in a sense we need to understand what this time period will be used for and what the outcome would be.

"I think that if that is clarified I think there should be a willingness to grant an extension. But I think there will be a lot of discussion about it, just as there has been in the European Parliament yesterday, because people are concerned about a rolling cliff-edge."

Confirming a short extension will be requested, a N0 10 source said: "PM won't be asking for a long extension.

"There is a case for giving Parliament a bit more time to agree a way forward, but the people of this country have been waiting nearly three years now.

"They are fed up with Parliament's failure to take a decision and the PM shares their frustration."

Education Secretary Damian Hinds has said a shorter rather than longer extension to Article 50 is the right option for the Prime Minister to request.

Speaking on the BBC Today programme, he said: "I don't see how a long delay gives certainty, actually, we've had a long time already.

"Unless and until a deal is finalised there remains the prospect, the risk, of no deal.

"In terms of timing there has already been two-plus years to do this and I think people are a bit tired of waiting for Parliament to get our act together and get the deal passed."

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said he had not yet received May's letter, but was hoping for "clarity" from the UK on the way forward.

He suggested that agreement on an extension to Article 50 might not be reached at this week's European Council summit, and that EU leaders might have to meet again next week to finalise it.

Speaking to the German radio station DRF, Juncker said: "We will probably have to meet again next week, because Mrs May has not got agreement for anything either in her Cabinet or her Parliament.

"As long as we don't know what Great Britain will say Yes to, we can't come to a resolution."

Juncker said that the EU had already moved a long way to accommodate the UK's demands, but insisted there would be "no more negotiations".

"I am ready for any movement, but we have already moved intensively towards Britain, he said, adding: "There isn't any more."

Asked about indications from Downing Street that May will request a short extension of only a few months, Juncker told DRF: "Those months would have to produce, as an end result, an agreement from the British Parliament to the (Agreement) text which is before them.

"If that doesn't happen, and if Great Britain does not leave at the end of March, then we are, I am sorry to say, in the hands of God. And I think even God sometimes reaches a limit to his patience."

Asked if the EU would then rule out any further compromise, Juncker said: "We are not in a state of war with the UK, but a state of negotiation. But the negotiations are finished."

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith has warned that "any delay" will cause problems for Conservative local election prospects in May.

The Chingford and Woodforod Green MP told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "There is real, real resistance and concern in the Conservative Party, not just in Parliament but on a much wider spectrum around the country in the run-up to the May elections.

"This will without question cannon into the May elections and cause real issues and concerns on the doorstep.

"Any delay creates a bow wave of problems, not just for the Government here but for the governing party and, frankly, for all those people who voted to leave thinking ... we would leave on March 29."

Appearing on LBC Radio, Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom said the Prime Minister is "extremely frustrated" but "remains determined to take us out of the EU" and hopes to do so without participating in EU elections.

She said: "It's absolutely essential we're out of the EU before the European elections.

"It would be extraordinary for the people who voted to leave the EU to find us fielding candidates for these next elections...

"She's absolutely working her socks off to get to that point, so, in seeking a short extension, she and her Cabinet will be determined to get further progress on the Meaningful Vote so we can get her deal voted through in Parliament."

Shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer said: "The Prime Minister appears to be pursing a course of action that her own deputy last week described as reckless.

"Theresa May is desperate once again to impose a binary choice between her deal and no-deal despite Parliament clearly ruling out both of those options last week.

"What the Government should be doing is showing real leadership, making good on their commitment to break the deadlock and secure an extension with a genuine purpose."