Theresa May set to abandon plan to ask EU for nine-month Brexit delay following bruising Cabinet revolt

THERESA May was last night on the verge of abandoning her ultimatum plan for a long Brexit delay after suffering a bruising Cabinet revolt.

Allies of the PM said they expect her to now rip up her initial bid to request a nine month extension to the Brexit talks from the EU after intense pressure from her own top table yesterday.

As many as 10 of Mrs May’s most senior ministers told her during a Cabinet meeting that the Conservative Party would not accept a long delay, as it would inevitably lead to a softer Brexit.

Instead, they insisted she should only ask for a three month delay at a crunch Brussels summit tomorrow on Thursday.

The humiliating U-turn would leave the PM plan’s to pressurise hardline Tory Brexiteers into backing her deal during a final Commons showdown next week in tatters.

And it would come despite Mrs May having won a 200-strong Commons majority for a long delay with Labour votes last week if her deal is voted down a third time.

The dramatic rethink came as No10 yesterday admitted Britain was in a full blown “crisis” thanks to the Commons deadlock, with just 10 days to go until exit day on March 29 and still no deal in place.

Mrs May was still agonising last night over how long a Brexit delay to ask the EU’s 27 leaders for – and has until tonight to pen a letter to EU Council president Donald Tusk.

The new eleventh hour prevarication left some Government ministers in outright despair last night, with one branding the shambles “an utter mess”.

One pro-Leave minister told The Sun: “Nobody knows what the f*** is going on, or even who in No10 is actually gripping it. Maybe nobody is.

“The whole thing is a national humiliation on a scale we have not seen in many, many decades – if ever before.”

Meanwhile, Remain ministers predicted Jacob Rees-Mogg’s 60-strong European Research Group would just seize on a shorter delay to run down the clock for a No Deal exit on June 30.

Yesterday’s 90 minute long Cabinet bust up came as Mrs May’s top table tried but failed to agree a length and reason for the Brexit delay.

One of the revolt’s leaders, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, told the Mrs May directly: “Trust your instincts Prime Minister. A long term extension would create division in the party”.

Others to speak out against a long delay were Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay and International Trade chief Liam Fox, who have both already signalled they may resign rather than vote for the her original plan.

They were also joined by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, Treasury Secretary Liz Truss, Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom and Tory chairman Brandon Lewis.

In a seething attack on the Cabinet’s Remainers, Brexiteer Ms Leadsom told the room: “This used to be the cabinet that would deliver Brexit and now from what I’m hearing it’s not”.

TORIES WOULD NEVER BE FORGIVEN

Mr Lewis also told the meeting that if a long delay forced Britain to hold European Parliament elections on May 23 – at a cost of at least £100m – the Tory party would “never be forgiven” by Leave voters.

The Sun has also learned that senior ERG figures have drawn up a fresh list of demands to issue to the PM to improve her Brexit deal in exchange for their support.

No10 and EU chiefs have insisted the Withdrawal Agreement is now closed after final tweaks won by the PM last week.

But around 40 ERG members are still insisting the Irish backstop must be made escapable, and they want Mrs May to press for that at tomorrow’s EU summit.

A senior ERG figure said: “All the PM needs to do to get our support is show some balls and issue our terms to the EU.

“They do not want No Deal and they will blink first, but she refuses to ask them”.

Chancellor Philip Hammond argued for a longer delay, along with Justice Secretary David Gauke and Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd.

But the PM eventually summed up the meeting by telling the Cabinet its majority view was for a short delay.

Later Mr Hammond tried to paper over the bust up by saying: “People have different approaches to how we should do this, but we are all clear we want to get this done as soon as we possibly can.

“We want the shortest delay possible, but what we need to get is an extension that allows us to get the deal through Parliament.”

During Cabinet, Trade Secretary Liam Fox also issued a powerful attack on Tory leadership contenders such as Boris Johnson, who are still refusing to back the PM’s deal, saying: “You’ll be left with a crown without a kingdom”.

BREXIT CRISIS

The PM asked to see Boris in No10 yesterday in a bid to persuade him round, but both remained tight-lipped on exactly what they discussed.

Admitting the UK was now in crisis, the PM’s official spokesman said: “The PM said if MPs didn’t support the Meaningful Vote there would be a crisis.

“Events of yesterday tell you that situation has come to pass.”

The PM despatched her de facto deputy, Cabinet Office minister David Lidington, to Brussels yesterday to try to explain the chaos in the Commons to key Brussels figures.

He outlined the PM’s initial position that Britain wants a technical extension of up to the end of June if the deal passes, but a much longer one if it fails.

As the pressure on all MPs intensified, one Labour MP went public to declare he would could back the PM’s deal if a no-deal Brexit was the only other option.

Stoke-on-Trent Central MP Gareth Snell told BBC Radio 4’s PM: “If there is no alternative to voting for her deal, then I can see myself voting for it. I haven’t made my mind up on that”.

The PM’s official spokesman yesterday said that Theresa May still believes the deal she has secured with Brussels is “a good one and the best deal available”.

But he confirmed that from Monday, Parliament would be able to begin to “determine a way forward” in a Commons debate under a promise made to MPs before the second Meaningful Vote a week ago.

Then, de-facto deputy PM David Lidington vowed MPs would get an opportunity to vote on the way forward on March 20 if the Government lost.

Insiders believe MPs are almost certain to push for a series of “indicative votes” on other Brexit options. Pressed if the Government could re-table the PM’s deal as one of those, the PM’s spokesman said: “We haven’t set out any process.”

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds last night said the Ulster unionist party’s conditions for backing the PM’s deal “haven’t softened”.

And he said that while there had been “good” discussions with the Government – they were not yet ready to offer support.

Sources claimed the DUP were not ready to commit until they knew Theresa May had enough support in the bag to win a Meaningful Vote.

As Government turmoil over how to pass the PM’s deal deepened, it emerged last night that one extraordinary plan is to hold the third and final Meaningful Vote as late as March 28 – just 24 hours before the UK is due to leave.

The last minute brinkmanship move would give MPs no other option to avoid a No Deal Brexit than to back Mrs May’s agreement.

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