EU leaders agree on Brexit delay plan

EU leaders have agreed on a plan to delay the Article 50 process, postponing Brexit beyond 29 March.

The bloc says it will extend the deadline until May 22 if Britain's Parliament approves Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal next week.

If they do not approve it, the delay will be shorter - until 12 April - at which point the UK must set out its next steps or leave without a deal.

May said MPs had a "clear choice".

Speaking on Thursday, after waiting for the 27 other EU countries to make their decision at a summit in Brussels, the prime minister said she would now be "working hard to build support for getting the deal through".

She also dismissed calls to revoke Article 50 - as a petition calling for that on the Parliament website attracted more than two million signatures - saying people had voted to leave and were told their decision would be respected.

MPs are expected to vote for a third time on the Brexit withdrawal deal next week, despite speaker John Bercow saying what is put forward must be substantially different to be voted on.

In a press conference with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, European Council President Donald Tusk said that, until 12 April - by when the UK would have to indicate whether it would stand candidates in the 2019 European Parliament elections - "all options remain on the table ... the UK government will still have a chance of a deal, no deal, a long extension or revoking Article 50".

If the UK has not decided by 12 April whether to take part in the elections the "option of a long extension will automatically become impossible", he said.

He added that the atmosphere was "much better than I had expected" among EU leaders in discussions and he was now "much more realistic".

Juncker said the European Commission had "worked tirelessly" to negotiate the withdrawal deal and respond to requests from the UK for further reassurances about keeping the Northern Irish border open. Legally-binding assurances agreed in Strasbourg last week had been endorsed, he added.

"This closes and completes the full package. There is no more than we can have."

Discussions ran late into the evening on Thursday amid reports of disagreement between the 27 other EU leaders about the details.