Theresa May has postponed a crucial vote on her draft Brexit agreement, going back to European Union leaders in a desperate bid to seek reassurances on the divorce deal. EU leaders are meeting to discuss Brexit at a summit in Brussels on Thursday (13th), but the European Council has warned it isn't open to making any changes to the current agreement.
British Prime Minister Theresa May's chances of finalising a Brexit deal ahead of the March 29th leave date are becoming increasingly unlikely. The UK parliament was due to vote on a draft Brexit deal ((Tue)) but, in an emergency speech to the House of Commons, Prime Minister May conceded the agreement she struck with the EU last month faced certain defeat:
"I've listened very carefully to what has been said in this chamber and out of it... To what has been said in this chamber and out of it by members from all sides. From listening to those views it is clear that while there is broad support for many of the key aspects of the deal, on one issue, the Northern Ireland backstop, there remains widespread and deep concern. As a result if we went ahead and held the vote tomorrow the deal would be rejected by a significant margin. We will therefore defer the vote scheduled for tomorrow and not proceed to divide the house at this time."
UK correspondent Nicol Degli Innocenti has more.
