EU leaders rule out Brexit deal changes as Theresa May tour continues
Despite trips to The Hague, Berlin and Brussels, the PM faces the wrath of MPs, with one saying she is on the "cliff-edge".
Wednesday 12 December 2018 00:55, UK
EU leaders have ruled out making any changes to the Brexit deal, as Theresa May fights to salvage it from a likely defeat in parliament.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted there was "no way" of re-opening negotiations on the agreement signed off last month in Brussels.
She added that efforts were being made to give reassurances to MPs who threatened to reject the deal in a vote supposed to be held on Tuesday.
The comments came after a meeting with Mrs May, who set off on a last-minute tour of European capitals.
She began the day in The Hague with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who called talks with Mrs May "useful".
Mrs May moved on to Berlin to meet Mrs Merkel, but their red carpet handshake was delayed when the prime minister got temporarily trapped inside her car.
Jean-Claude Juncker has also ruled out any changes to the terms of the divorce deal, ahead of his own meeting with Mrs May.
The European Commission president called it "the only deal possible", adding: "There is no room whatsoever for renegotiation."
Mrs May also met European Council President Donald Tusk and will speak to Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurtz on the phone from Brussels on Tuesday evening.
The prime minister will head to Ireland to meet Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Wednesday.
While she was out of the country, MPs gathered in parliament for an emergency debate on Mrs May's decision to pull the vote on her Brexit deal.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn led attacks on the prime minister by accusing her of "demeaning her office" by scrapping the vote.
"Our prime minister is traipsing round the continent in pursuit and search of warm words - when she can get out of the car to hear them," he said.
Mr Corbyn called her a "runaway prime minister" whose trip amounted to a "waste of time and a waste of public money".
He also said it was "disturbing" that Mrs May reportedly informed EU leaders about the decision to delay the vote before MPs
A spokesman for Number 10 insisted that was "not true" and that the decision was taken "in consultation with cabinet colleagues".
The prime minister held a call with Mr Tusk on Sunday, but no readout was provided by Downing Street.
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford piled pressure on Mr Corbyn by challenging him to call a vote of no confidence, which would likely force Theresa May to resign if she loses.
A Labour spokesperson said MPs were "more likely" to back a no confidence vote when Mrs May returns from her European trip because there will be "no significant changes" to the deal.
Veteran Tory Brexiteer Sir Bill Cash also piled pressure on the prime minister to quit, telling the Commons she had reached "the cliff-edge of resignation".
"She is clinging to the wreckage, she has reached the point of no return," he declared.
Nicky Morgan, a senior pro-EU Conservative MP, also suggested a government of national unity could be one way to help save the UK from leaving the EU with no deal.
Follow the latest Brexit showdown live as Theresa May faces Prime Minister's Questions from 12pm on Sky News.