Brexit news - live: MPs vote for June extension as May meets Merkel and Macron ahead of crunch Brussels summit

Speaking in Luxembourg, German foreign minister Michael Roth says any long extension to Brexit will have to come with "very strict criteria" and accuses the UK of having "a decision-making problem".

He says:

“It’s groundhog day again. So far absolutely nothing has changed. A long extension has to come with very strict criteria. We don’t have a time problem, we have a decision-making problem, especially on the British side.

“Therefore we don’t have a time problem, we have a decision-making problem, especially on the British side. And there are clear expectations here from our side, but we will keep our hand extended.”

The EU has said Theresa May must produce a plan within 24 hours if she wants to secure a delay to Brexit

John McDonnell has told a briefing of Westminster journalists that the government has not changed its position on a customs union - "not even changes to language". The shadow chancellor will take part in talks with ministers this afternoon and said Labour was waiting to see the the government proposes.

If the EU is expecting a clear Brexit plan from Theresa May’s at Wednesday’s emergency European Council summit they are going to be disappointed, writes political editor Joe Watts.

When asked about the EU’s desire for a solid view of her proposals, the prime minister’s spokesman highlighted the on-going talks with the Labour Party.

“The prime minister will be able to point to those talks and also be able to talk to the fact that she remains certain that there is a majority in parliament for leaving the European Union with a deal,” he said.

While Ms May initially, in her letter last week, set out a desire for a short extension of the Article 50 period to 30 June, few people, and probably not even the PM herself, actually expected the EU to agree to this – not least because European leaders have rejected the date on a previous occasion.

Her decision to ask for it was driven more by the need to avoid unnecessarily aggravating Tory party tensions, when they are already so badly aggravated.

The worst possible scenario for her is being locked into a really long extension, with no way out of it for the UK. This would be bad for the Tories, representing a total failure to deliver Brexit, and bad for her, as it would give time for her party to kick her out and elect a new leader in good time to do something different with the UK’s withdrawal.

So the best scenario, and insiders admit this is what the PM is really concentrating on, is the so-called “flextension” – a long extension, possibly to the end of the year, but with a get-out clause if the PM can get her deal through.

It gives the prospect of talks with Labour a chance of success, gives her deal a lease of life and her premiership a reason to exist for a short time at least.

But her Tory critics and rivals, who have now spent so much time sharpening their political knives and setting up leadership contest campaign teams, are unlikely to let her keep ploughing on till the end of the year.

This is a revealing slip from Penny Mordaunt, the international development secretary, who is widely believed to be planning a bid to succeed Theresa May.

She tells an event organised by centre-right thinktank Onward that her "campaign team" gets frustrated at some of the things she says...

NEW: Following Theresa May's meeting with Angela Merkel, a Downing Street spokesperson says: 

“The prime minister met with German chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin this afternoon for a working lunch.

“Ahead of EU Council tomorrow, the leaders discussed the UK’s request for an extension of Article 50 to 30 June with the option to bring this forward if a deal is ratified earlier.

“The prime minister outlined the steps the government is taking to bring the Brexit process to a successful conclusion, and updated Chancellor Merkel on the ongoing discussions with the Opposition. 

“The leaders agreed on the importance of ensuring Britain’s orderly withdrawal from the European Union.

“The leaders also discussed the ongoing situations in Yemen and Libya”. 

Opinion: There's a third Brexit option that Theresa May isn't telling you about, writes Gina Miller for The Independent...

John McDonnell has revealed the agenda for today's talks between the government and Labour, and said Brexit documents were “flying backwards and forwards” between the two parties over the weened, with the most recent being sent by the government on Sunday.

He told reporters in Westminster:

“We’re working on what we received yesterday.

“Today on the agenda: customs union, single market alignment, regulatory status on employment and environment and consumer - Michael Gove is there so we’re expecting a presentation on environment - and then going on to the issues around entrenchment for the future.”

“We’re at the second stage of going through the second letter we had about clarifications on customs union.

“The issue around regulations, dynamic regulations around workers, consumer and environmental.

“We’re concentrating this afternoon on the issue around workers and the environment.

“We’ll try and move on, as much as we possibly can, to the environment discussions with Michael [Gove] then concentrate back onto the alignment with workers’ regulations."

He added:

“What there hasn’t been sufficient discussion of so far is alignment with the single market.

“So Philip Hammond’s there today and we will be expecting him to outline in more detail the proposals that they have.

“On the agenda we’ve maintained the discussion about entrenchment - how do we secure any deal that comes forward in the long term."

The government is scrapping rules that force people to prove adultery, unreasonable behaviour or desertion as grounds for a divorce, ministers have announced. 

Theresa May's visit to Germany got off to an awkward start when there was no one to meet her in Berlin...