Britain’s EU exit date might not be March 29, 2019, after all

THERESA MAY has conceded that Britain’s exit from the EU could be postponed after she was forced into a climbdown over the date of Brexit.

The Prime Minister said Brexit day – March 29, 2019 – could be pushed back “in exceptional circumstances” if negotiations with the EU overran.

In accepting an amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill giving Parliament the power to postpone Brexit if EU member states decide to extend the Article 50 period, she has avoided a second defeat in the space of a week over an amendment to the Bill. However, Brexiteers fear this could “indefinitely extend our stay in the EU”.

Michel Barnier, the EU’S chief Brexit negotiator, has insisted the transition period should end in December 2020, earlier than the two years favoured by the Government. Mrs May had said Britain would leave the EU at 11pm on March 29, 2019, and repeated this at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday.

But she announced the Government had accepted an amendment by Sir Oliver Letwin, David Cameron’s former policy chief, that allowed the date to be changed by a vote in Parliament. Mrs May had no choice but to accept the amendment after more than 40 Tory MPS, including Steve Baker, a Brexit minister, put their names to it. Mrs May said: “We would use that power only in extremely exceptional circumstances for the shortest possible time.”

John Baron, a Eurosceptic Tory MP, asked the Prime Minister to pledge that “it will only be used for a matter of weeks, or a couple of months at most”. But Mrs May refused to set a time limit.

It came as the EU drafted guidelines for transition and for the future relationship with the UK. No10 said the timing of the transition was a matter for negotiation. The guidelines expect the UK to follow EU rules during the transition while having no say over them.

Mr Barnier appeared to indicate that Spain would have a veto on any arrangements covering Gibraltar, saying decisions would be “made for the 27, unanimously, by consensus”. Mrs May told the Commons: “We are not going to exclude Gibraltar from negotiations.”