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Theresa May’s latest round of Brexit negotiations is hitting a roadblock as her request to extend Article 50 to 30 June may be given a much longer time frame by the European Union than she anticipated.
European Council president Donald Tusk suggested on the eve of the summit that EU leaders grant the UK a longer extension of up to one year.
This comes after MPs in the commons voted to delay Brexit until the June deadline.
Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay told BBC Radio 4's 'Today' programme: "I don't want to see a delay for up to a year.
"But, the key with any delay is we are able to terminate it once we ratify in order that we can then get on and get a deal through parliament, ratify that agreement and leave the EU.
And I think that is what the EU leaders want, it is what the prime minister wants.
People have taken to Twitter to discuss the maelstrom of the latest in Brexit negotiations.
President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, is calling for a longer extension.
Brexiteer Nigel Farage didn’t respond to the latest vote directly, and instead revealed his intention to get ‘rid of’ the two-party structure that is the foundation of politics in the UK.
Fellow Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg attacked the EU’s ‘lack of sincerity’.
This promoted pro-Remain Labour MP David Lammy to point out Mogg's voting inconsistencies.
Labour party hardline Brexiteer MP Kate Hoey called the MP vote on the extension a 'humiliation'.
Tory MP Sam Gyimah, who resigned over May's Brexit deal back in November, is all for a longer extension.
In the commons he delivered a speech advocating for more time: "Isn’t it about time we accepted that the strategy that the prime minister has pursued up until now is a failed strategy?
That there is no majority in this House for that deal and that being pressured at the last minute to cobble something together which is divisive to this House is not the right approach either given how irreversible and momentous the decision in front of us is.
In that case we should embrace the opportunity of a longer extension to pause and reflect to get the right deal for our country.
MP Anna Soubry, who quit the Tories to form The Independent Group, says the ‘will of the people is changing’ and voted for an extension to allow time for the People’s Vote.
Political commentators also gave their pennyworth.
And they are talking about the details of the extension and no-deal scenarios.
Others see it as yet another laborious process in the Brexit negotiations.
Follow live updates from Westminster and Brussels on The Independent.
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