Tusk says deadline extension only way to avoid 'chaotic Brexit'

Speaking to press after meeting with May ahead of a summit in Egypt, Tusk said it was "absolutely clear" there was no majority for May's deal in the Commons and argued an extension to the current 29 March deadline would be the only way to avoid a "chaotic Brexit".

Tusk's comments come after German Chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly questioned the prime minister over a possible delay to proceedings, while the Irish Independent quoted Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar stating that an extension was the only alternative to May's deal.

"What’s evident to me is absolutely no-one wants the UK to crash out with no deal, that’s a lose-lose-lose scenario for everyone. That gives me confidence, or a sense at least, that the UK will not crash out without a deal on 29 March. We’ll either have a deal or have an extension," said Varadkar.

Meanwhile, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte warned that Britain was "sleep walking into no deal scenario" while fellow EU countries urged it to "wake up".

The weekend also saw reports that some senior EU officials were prepared to offer a 21-month extension to replace the planned 'Brexit transition period', allowing negotiations to continue through to 2021.

However, May still appears to be sticking to her guns, commenting: "An extension to Article 50, a delay to this process doesn’t deliver a decision in parliament, it doesn’t deliver a deal. Any extension of Article 50 isn’t addressing the issue."

May, who is under increased pressure after three pro-EU Conservative MPs left the party to join the new Independent Group, is set to update parliament on the progress of negotiations on Tuesday after having delayed a meaningful vote on the final deal until 12 March, a little more than two weeks before the current leaving date.