Donald Tusk urges EU27 to be open to long Brexit delay

European Council President Donald Tusk has said he will appeal to EU leaders "to be open to a long extension" of the Brexit deadline if the UK needs to rethink its strategy and get consensus.

His intervention came as UK MPs were set to vote on seeking to postpone the 29 March deadline to 30 June.

EU leaders meet in Brussels on 21 March and they would have the final say.

Tusk tweeted: “During my consultations ahead of [the leaders’ summit next week], I will appeal to the EU27 to be open to a long extension if the UK finds it necessary to rethink its Brexit strategy and build consensus around it.”

Prime Minister Theresa May has said that if her Brexit deal is not approved a longer extension may be necessary.

After two resounding defeats in the House of Commons, she will make another attempt to push her Withdrawal Agreement with the EU through next week.

All 27 other EU nations would have to agree to an extension, and Tusk, who is the bloc's summit chairman, will hold talks with several leaders ahead of next week's Brussels meeting.

While European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has insisted that any postponement "should be complete before the European elections" at the end of May, Tusk made clear a longer delay was on the cards.

Tusk said earlier this year that the EU's hearts were still open to the UK if it changed its mind about Brexit. He provoked an angry reaction from pro-Brexit supporters when he said there was a "special place in hell" for those who had promoted Brexit "without even a sketch of a plan of how to carry it out safely".

MPs will vote on Thursday evening on whether to request an extension until 30 June to allow the necessary legislation to be passed should May’s deal finally be ratified in the coming days.

The motion is amendable, and the prime minister has warned Brexiters that a longer extension would likely be in play should her deal be rejected again at a likely third vote by 20 March.