We may stop Britain staying in, say the French

THE French government threatened to veto any request for a Brexit delay last night.

Increasing the likelihood of a No Deal exit, foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that unless circumstances changed, the EU would refuse to extend beyond October 31.

Following the last extension, the UK will leave in 52 days. Unanimous agreement is required from EU leaders to any further postponement.

The comments came amid reports Downing Street would refuse to appoint a EU commissioner to get the other member states to kick the UK out. The move would be seen as an attempt to push EU leaders to reject a further delay. No10 officials believe it would mean the commission will not be ‘legally constituted’.

Mr Le Drian said: ‘It’s very worrying. The British must tell us what they want.’ He added that an extension was not possible beyond the end of next month under current conditions.

‘We are not going to do [extend] this every three months,’ he said.

Senior MEP Guy Verhofstat also backed up stopping an extension. He tweeted: ‘Le Drian is right. Yet another extension is unacceptable, unless the deadlock in London is broken. Let it be a second referendum, new elections, a revocation of Article 50 or the approval of the deal, but not today’s helpless status quo.’

Meanwhile, it was claimed rebel MPs received private assurances from EU leaders that they would agree to a three-month delay.

Senior figures behind the Bill cleared their plan with EU capitals, the Times reported, and were told the EU Council would not stand in the way of one final extension.

Responding to the report, former UK ambassador to Washington Sir Christopher Meyer

said that if true, the MPs would be guilty of ‘shameful treachery committed by politicians without honour or principles’.

At the last EU summit in April French President Emmanuel Macron threatened to veto a further extension before eventually giving way.

Asked about the plan not to appoint a Commissioner, one EU source said: ‘I wouldn’t be at all too worried about the formation of the Commission. On the other hand using that kind of threat doesn’t really bode that well for negotiations. The only thing it would do is violate a UK obligation and therefore lead to an infraction procedure.’