Theresa May buckles: British PM to rule out no-deal Brexit

British Prime Minister Theresa May will reportedly propose to her Cabinet of senior ministers that she formally rules out a no-deal Brexit, opening the door to a delay of weeks or months to the March 29 exit date. PHOTO: DPA

LONDON (REUTERS) - British Prime Minister Theresa May will propose formally ruling out a no-deal Brexit on Tuesday (Feb 26) in a bid to avoid a rebellion by lawmakers who are threatening to grab control of the divorce process, The Sun newspaper reported.

As the labyrinthine Brexit crisis goes down to the wire, Mrs May is making a last-ditch effort to get changes to the divorce package, but lawmakers will try to grab control of Brexit in a series of parliamentary votes on Wednesday.

After the British Parliament voted 432-202 against her deal in January, the worst defeat in modern British history, Mrs May has tried use the threat of a potentially disorderly no-deal Brexit to get concessions out of the European Union.

But many British lawmakers and some of her own ministers have warned that they will try to grab control of Brexit to avert thrusting the world's fifth largest economy into a tumultuous economic crisis.

On Tuesday, Mrs May will propose to her Cabinet of senior ministers that she formally rules out a no-deal Brexit, opening the door to a delay of weeks or months to the March 29 exit date, The Sun newspaper reported.

Reuters reported on Monday that Mrs May's government was looking at different options, including a possible delay.

After meeting EU leaders in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on Monday, Mrs May said a timely exit was "within our grasp" and insisted that delaying Brexit would be no way to solve the impasse in Parliament over the departure.

With just a month to go until Brexit, the ultimate outcome is still unclear, with scenarios ranging from a last-minute deal to another referendum that Mrs May has warned would reopen the divisions of the 2016 referendum.

The opposition Labour Party said on Monday that it would back calls for a second referendum on Brexit if Parliament rejects its alternative plan for leaving the EU.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.