MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brexit deadline: Mrs May promises a vote on delaying UK's withdrawal

Mrs May made a statement to MPs about Brexit on Tuesday, amid the threat of a revolt by Remain-supporting ministers

Theresa May has promised MPs a vote on delaying the UK's departure from the EU or ruling out a no-deal Brexit, if they reject her deal next month. Mrs. May made a statement to MPs about Brexit on Tuesday, amid the threat of a revolt by Remain-supporting ministers

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused the prime minister of another “grotesquely reckless” Brexit delay.

The prime minister said she will put her withdrawal agreement - including any changes she has agreed with the EU - to a meaningful vote by 12 March.

If that fails, MPs will be offered two separate votes:

• One, on the following day, on whether MPs support a no-deal Brexit - so the UK would “only leave without a deal on 29 March if there is explicit consent in the House for that outcome”
• If that fails, then MPs will get a vote by 14 March on requesting an extension to the two-year Article 50 negotiation process to delay EU withdrawal beyond 29 March

“Let me be clear, I do not want to see Article 50 extended,” she told MPs. “Our absolute focus should be on working to get a deal and leaving on 29 March.” Any extension should not go beyond the end of June and “would almost certainly have to be a one-off”, she added.

Mrs May said an extension “cannot take no deal off the table”, adding: “The only way to do that is to revoke Article 50, which I shall not do, or agree a deal.”

Extending Article 50 would require the unanimous backing of the other 27 EU member states and, she said, she had not had conversations about it with them.

Mrs May repeatedly declined to say whether she would vote against a no-deal Brexit, and whether Tory MPs would be whipped to vote for or against it.

Several Remain-backing ministers were threatening to resign, so that they could vote for a cross-party amendment aimed at ruling out a no-deal Brexit, when MPs vote on a government motion on Wednesday.

Conservative Caroline Spelman and Labor's Jack Dromey, said they “welcomed” the PM's statement but they would still table amendments paving the way for a bill to extend Article 50.

They will then “seek assurances from ministers during [the] debate to secure confirmation of the prime minister's commitments, which we hope will mean we will not push our amendments to a vote”, the pair said in a joint statement.

Opponents of Mrs May who support another EU referendum said she had still not ruled out a no-deal Brexit. The Independent Group's Anna Soubry, who quit the Conservatives in protest at their Brexit policy, said it was a “shameful moment” and “nothing has changed”.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the chairman of the European Research Group of Leave-backing Conservative MPs, said: “My suspicion is that any delay to Brexit is a plot to stop Brexit. ”This would be the most grievous error that politicians could commit.”

Mr Corbyn says Labour will get behind another EU referendum if the party can't get its own Brexit proposals through Parliament on Wednesday. If Mrs May's Brexit deal gets through Parliament next month, Labour wants it to be put to a public vote - with remaining in the EU as the other option.