London denies plotting last-minute Brexit vote
- British television channel reported that it had overheard chief Brexit negotiator saying the EU would let Britain extend its March 29 departure date
The British government denied on Wednesday it was secretly plotting to force MPs into a last-minute choice on Brexit between a rejigged deal or a lengthy delay.
ITV television reported that it had overheard Prime Minister Theresa May’s chief Brexit negotiator Olly Robbins in a Brussels bar saying the European Union would probably let Britain extend its March 29 departure date.
Such a move would effectively mean removing the possibility of Britain leaving the EU without a deal.
ITV reported that it eavesdropped on Robbins, one of the key figures in the Brexit negotiations, talking to colleagues in a hotel bar on Monday.
He was said to have indicated that if lawmakers – who overwhelmingly rejected the deal struck between London and Brussels – did not vote for a rehashed withdrawal agreement, then the delay to Brexit would be “a long one”.
