Brexit: May asks for June delay as Tusk offers 1 year 'flextension'

European Council President Donald Tusk was reportedly pressing the EU27 to offer the UK a one-year “flexible” Brexit extension as Theresa May wrote requesting a delay of up to June 30.

Tusk told EU officials Britain could have an option to leave once the withdrawal agreement is ratified by parliament and was expected to outline his idea at the emergency leaders' summit in Brussels next Wednesday.

He was reported to have described the plan as “the only reasonable way out” of the current impasse. His proposal must be approved unanimously by the other 27 EU states.

May on Friday wrote to the EU to request a further delay to Brexit until 30 June - the same date rejected by the bloc last month. Her proposal says if the House of Commons agreed a withdrawal deal in time, the UK should be able to leave before European Parliamentary elections on 23 May.

However, she added the UK would participate in those elections if agreement was not reached "including by making the Order that sets the date of the poll".

"The government’s policy has always been and remains to leave the European Union in an orderly way, and without undue delay," May wrote to Tusk.

"The House of Commons has not thus far approved the deal that would enable this, nor — despite considerable efforts by both members of Parliament and by the government — has it yet found a majority in favour of any other proposal. The House has, however, continued to express its opposition to leaving the European Union without a deal. The government agrees that leaving with a deal is the best outcome."

"This impasse cannot be allowed to continue. In the UK it is creating uncertainty and doing damage to faith in politics, while the European Union has a legitimate desire to move on to decisions about its own future. That is why the government has decided to take further action to seek a consensus across the House of Commons on the right way forward."

As things stand, the UK is set to leave the EU at 11pm GMT on April 12. Prime Minister Theresa May said earlier this week that she would seek a short extension until 22 May to allow for cross-party talks with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Talks between Labour and the Conservatives were set to continue on Friday. May's withdrawal plan has already been rejected by parliament three times, while two rounds of voting on alternative proposals failed to resolve matters.