Brexit delay: EU president Donald Tusk says extending Article 50 would be 'rational' solution

Delaying Brexit with an extension to Article 50 would be a “rational” solution to the ongoing crisis, the president of the European Council has said.

But speaking at an EU summit in Egypt Donald Tusk suggested Theresa May had been resistant to a delay in a meeting with him earlier at the gathering.

“I believe that in the situation we are in, an extension would be a rational decision but prime minister May still believes she will be able to avoid this scenario,” Mr Tusk told reporters following his meeting with Ms May.

Mr Tusk said he and the prime minister had discussed the “legal and political consequences of a possible extension” of Britain’s two-year limit on Brexit negotiations, which is set to expire on March 29 when the UK would otherwise crash out.

“For me it’s absolutely clear that there’s no majority in the House of Commons to approve a deal, we will face an alternative: a chaotic Brexit or an extension. The less time there is until the 29 March the greater the likelihood of an extension. This is an objective fact, not our intention or plan, but an objective fact,” the president said.

His comments come after Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar backed a “long extension”, suggesting that it would be better than the disastrous consequences of a no-deal.

Angela Merkel is also understood to have asked the prime minister about a possible extension during a meeting at the Sharm El Sheikh summit.

At the same meeting Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte warned that Britain was “sleep walking into no deal scenario” and that as the UK’s “best friends” EU countries were urging Britain to “wake up”.

Irish PM Mr Vardkar told reporters: “I’d certainly rather see an extension than seeing the UK leave without a deal. A long extension creates a complication in relation to the European elections, but that’s a small complication relative to the impact on our economy.”

He added that he was “confident” that the UK would either go for “a deal or an extension” and avoid crashing out.

EU officials have been discussing the possibility of a long extension to Article 50 in recent days, according to reports out of Brussels. The plan would delay Brexit until at least 2021.

Ministers appear to be public split on the matter of an extension, however. Defence minister Tobias Ellwood suggested on Monday morning that he would be "tempted" to vote for a delay, while Damian Hinds, the Education Secretary said the same morning that Brexit would not be delayed and that "it is going to happen on 29 March".

EU officials have previously expressed worries that any significant extension of Article 50 would mean the UK would, under the EU treaties, have to participate in the European Parliament elections scheduled for May.

But Mr Varadkar said: “I’d certainly rather see an extension than seeing the UK leave without a deal. A long extension creates a complication in relation to the European elections, but that’s a small complication relative to the impact on our economy.”

A short extension could also present problems of its own: the European Parliament must ratify any withdrawal agreement, and will dissolve in mid-April ahead of the vote, not returning until July. It would not be able to approve any agreement while it is dissolved.