EU officials believe no-deal Brexit increasingly likely

Reuters quotes EU officials as saying that the European Union believes that a no-deal Brexit is “increasingly likely” the UK will leave without a deal on 12 April, after the bloc gave Britain two more weeks to solve its political stalemate, but is doubtful that would work.

“We are prepared for this scenario,” an EU official said describing the bloc’s contingency preparations.

In the meantime, Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to update ministers on her Brexit strategy as she chairs a meeting of her cabinet this morning.

It comes after a weekend of speculation about her leadership and claims of a plot to oust her – something senior ministers have denied.

There have been suggestions that naming a date for her departure as PM could boost support for her Brexit deal.

But Downing Street has refused to be drawn on May’s future.

Her deal has been overwhelmingly rejected in the Commons twice, and it remains unclear whether she will bring it back a third time this week after she wrote to MPs saying she would only do so if there was “sufficient support”.

Via Reuters and BBC