Prime Minister Theresa May seeks Brexit extension as she promises talks with Jeremy Corbyn to break 'logjam'
Video report by ITV News Political Correspondent Paul Brand
Brexit is set to be delayed again as Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn attempt to find a way out of the Commons impasse over how to leave the European Union.
The Prime Minister said she would seek an extension beyond the current April 12 Brexit day to allow talks with the Labour leader aimed at ensuring the UK leaves the EU "in a timely and orderly way".
The European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt welcomed Mrs May's move and said it was "better late than never".
Mrs May said the offer to engage with Labour in talks was an attempt to "break the logjam" and find a compromise after MPs rejected her Withdrawal Agreement three times and failed to back any of the alternative proposals considered so far.
Mr Corbyn responded that he would be "very happy" to meet the Prime Minister in a bid to offer "certainty and security" to the British people.
Mrs May is seeking to find a plan which can be put to the House of Commons ahead of the April 10 summit of the European Council and the April 12 deadline they have set for the UK to come up with an alternative plan.
However, Mrs May said that if a compromise with Mr Corbyn cannot be reached by then, she would seek an extension to allow the talks between the pair to progress.
But speaking in 10 Downing Street after a marathon session of Cabinet lasting over seven hours - which was described as "divisive" and "tense" by one source - Mrs May said that any further delay to Brexit should be "as short as possible".
She said a bill to pave the way for departure would have to be in place by May 22 to ensure the UK did not have to take part in European Parliament elections which would see Britain locked into the EU for much longer.
Watch the Prime Minister's full statement here:
Any new proposal would have to accept the Withdrawal Agreement – including its controversial backstop arrangement – and focus on amendments to the Political Declaration on the future EU/UK relationship, she said.
Setting out her plan for talks with Mr Corbyn, Mrs May said: “The ideal outcome of this process would be to agree an approach on a future relationship that delivers on the result of the referendum, that both the leader of the Opposition and I could put to the House for approval and which I could then take to next week’s European Council.
“However, if we cannot agree on the single unified approach, then we would instead agree a number of options for the future relationship that we could put to the House in a series of votes to determine which course to pursue.
“Crucially, the Government stands ready to abide by the decision of the House, but to make this process work, the opposition would need to agree to this too.”
Agreeing to meet with Mrs May, Mr Corbyn said Labour "recognises that she has made a move, I recognise my responsibility to represent the people that supported Labour in the last election and the people who didn't support Labour but nevertheless want certainty and security for their own future and that's the basis on which we will meet her and we will have those discussions".
Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson was less enthusiastic about Mrs May's statement, saying that it is "very disappointing that the Brexit process has now been entrusted to Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party.
"And I think the result will almost certainly be Corbyn gets his way that we remain in the Customs Union so that we can't control our trade policy, huge areas of law-making, we can't control.
"And Brexit is becoming soft to the point of disintegration."
Leading Brexiter Jacob Rees-Mogg was equally pessimistic, saying that any dependence by the Prime Minister on opposition votes would put her in "difficult territory".
"In terms of extension, people voted to leave and this process has been poorly handled throughout and an extension is a sign of Government failure," he told ITV News.
He added: "I would much rather have no-deal than what seems to be happening.
"And I certainly don't want Jeremy Corbyn running the country in some sort of coalition with Theresa May."
Mrs May's allies in Government, the DUP, also attacked the Prime Minister's plans, accusing her of sub-contracting out the future of Brexit to the Labour Party, but saying it came as a "little surprise".
"We want the result of the referendum respected, and just as we joined the Common Market as one country we must leave the EU as one country," the party said in a statement.
"We will continue to use our position within Parliament and with the Government to argue strongly the case for Northern Ireland and the integrity of the United Kingdom.
"We remain consistent in judging all Brexit outcomes against our clear unionist principles."
Mrs May's speech followed a marathon Cabinet meeting, where one source said ministers were split 14-10 against asking for a long extension to the Brexit process.
But a second Cabinet source said ministers spoke 17-4 in favour of the limited extension sought by the Prime Minister, with just Gavin Williamson, Penny Mordaunt, Chris Grayling and Liz Truss opposed to the measure.
The source said: "This is a pragmatic way forward. PM clear that we won't leave with no-deal in April."
Chancellor Philip Hammond is understood to have suggested a general election or second referendum could be required to break the Brexit deadlock.
A Number 10 source confirmed the option of a general election was discussed at the meeting but "there was not a great deal of enthusiasm" and "it was agreed it wouldn't be the right thing to do".
ITV News Political Editor Robert Peston said the "remarkable" thing about the statement is that it suggested Cabinet had not "shown leadership".
Also on Tuesday, a group of cross-party MPs tabled a bill to extend the Brexit deadline beyond April 12 and prevent a no-deal departure.
It was put forward by Labour's Yvette Cooper, with the backing of senior MPs including Sir Oliver Letwin, Hilary Benn, Dame Caroline Spelman, Jack Dromey, Dominic Grieve and Norman Lamb.
The MPs aim to pass the bill through the Commons on Wednesday.
ITV News Europe Editor James Mates explains Europe's reaction the the Prime Minister's statement