EU chiefs are drawing up a YEAR-long delay to Brexit as Theresa May’s deal teeters towards a third crushing defeat today.
The Prime Minister is facing humiliation in the House of Commons this afternoon as MPs vote on her 585-pact – hours before Brexit was due to happen.
In a desperate final gambit Mrs May is putting just half of her deal before MPs – and said she’ll resign within weeks if it passes.
Mrs May sat on the frontbench of a packed House of Commons as MPs held an emergency Friday sitting on their “last chance” to pass the deal.
Yet Labour , her DUP allies and a hard core of Tory Brexiteers still refused to back her. And a last-minute effort at compromise, by Labour MPs Lisa Nandy and Gareth Snell, was blocked by the Commons Speaker.
That means Theresa May is teetering towards defeat at 2.30pm – albeit by a smaller majority than last time after Brexiteer Boris Johnson rowed in behind her.
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That will hand control back to MPs for more “indicative votes” on Monday and leave her with a stark choice on the new Brexit date of April 12.
The embattled Prime Minister will have to choose between either crashing out with No Deal, revoking Article 50 or opting for a “long” delay.
Multiple reports now suggest the EU is drawing up a delay of around a year.
EU officials told The Times a year-long delay is being drawn up and could be agreed by 27 EU leaders at an emergency summit on April 10.
Politico agreed the summit could be on April 10 and suggested the EU will offer a further delay “lasting into early 2020”.
That would mean Britain taking part in EU elections, choosing politicians to sit in the European Parliament from July.
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A source warned the Daily Mail that once MEPs were in place, there would be “no limit” to the possible number of extensions over a five-year period.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said today the country is ready to agree a longer delay. And Irish premier Leo Varadkar is to hold Brexit talks with the French and German leaders next week.
Mrs May previously suggested she would resign rather than agree a long extension.
That has prompted fevered speculation she could call a general election as soon as next week to break the impasse.
But EU chiefs also warned the risk of No Deal Brexit has never been higher.
Stefaan De Rynck, a senior adviser to EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, said today: “The no-deal today… is a likely scenario.
“Listening to what a number of MPs are saying in public broadcasts, or in interviews, it is really a likely scenario.”
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Attorney General Geoffrey Cox today warned today was MPs’ “last opportunity” to lock in a short, guaranteed Brexit delay to May 22 instead of plunging into the unknown.
Opening the debate in the House of Commons, he signalled he would give MPs more say over the next step of negotiations.
Mr Cox said he “would have accepted” an amendment calling for MPs to have more voice that was tabled by Labour MPs Mr Snell and Ms Nandy.
He added: “We put before the House the choice that the House faces today.
“[The deal] will bring certainty to thousands of businesses and millions of individuals throughout this country, and to one million citizens of our country residing in the EU.”
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But Labour were left furious by “trickery” that meant today’s vote would be valid with the EU – yet still not count as a “meaningful vote” under British law.
Theresa May took the decision to separate two parts of her deal, the Withdrawal Agreement on leaving and Political Declaration on future trade, into two votes.
MPs will only vote today on the Withdrawal Agreement – which the UK government claims will be enough to show the EU we have passed the deal.
Labour said that would mean voting with a “blindfold” on – not only having no idea what Brexit will look like, but having no idea who will be Prime Minister to lead it.
In a phone call with Theresa May last night, Jeremy Corbyn warned victory today “would leave the next Tory party leader free to rip up essential rights”.
Labour MP Meg Hillier said: “This is a leap into the dark.”
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SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford added: “This deal should be dead”.
And SNP MP Neil Gray said it could “usher in a right-wing Tory Prime Minister”.
Some have switched sides including Boris Johnson, who tweeted: “It is very painful to vote for this deal.
“But I hope we can now work together to remedy its defects, avoid the Backstop trap and strive to deliver the Brexit people voted for.”
But a rump of Tory Brexiteers refused to swing behind the deal, as did the DUP, Theresa May’s 10 allies that prop up her government.
MPs will now hold further “indicative votes” on the way forward on Monday night that could see them wrestle power away from Theresa May.
Yet Tory MPs have been branded “sickening” as shameless ministers launched leadership bids despite the country remaining in crisis.
And The Independent Group of 11 breakaway MPs confirmed it would register as a political party and stand in EU elections under an interim leader, Heidi Allen.
Meanwhile hundreds of pro-Brexit protesters shouting “out means out” began gathering outside Parliament.
A 32ft fishing boat was due to arrive on the back of a truck, escorted by a pipe band, for ‘Fishing For Leave’.
The March For Leave, mocked for its tiny crowd size, was due to reach Parliament Square to be addressed by Nigel Farage.
And far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who prefers to call himself Tommy Robinson, was due to address a rally hosted by UKIP at around 4.30pm.
