UK to seek further Brexit delay, try to break deadlock

LONDON (AP) — With Britain racing toward a chaotic exit from the European Union within days, Prime Minister Theresa May veered away from the cliff-edge Tuesday, saying she would seek a further delay to Brexit as U.K. politicians sought a compromise solution to the crisis.

May made the announcement after the EU’s chief negotiator warned that a disruptive and costly Brexit was likely unless Britain broke the impasse that has paralysed the government and Parliament.

After failing repeatedly to win Parliament’s backing for her Brexit blueprint, May said the country needed “national unity to deliver the national interest.”

Following the defeat of the government’s plan and a range of lawmaker-written alternatives, May said Britain would need a further delay to its EU departure, currently scheduled for April 12.

She offered to hold talks with opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in an attempt to find a compromise solution.

“This debate, this division, cannot drag on much longer,” May said in a televised statement from 10 Downing St. after an all-day Cabinet meeting.

European Council President Donald Tusk gave a cautious welcome to May’s change of course.

“Even if, after today, we don’t know what the end result will be, let us be patient,” he tweeted — a suggestion the EU would wait for Britain to present a clear plan.

Earlier, EU negotiator Michel Barnier offered a downbeat assessment of the situation.

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