A top EU official has suggested a no-deal Brexit looks likely following a meeting with British MPs.
Martin Selmayr, the European Commission secretary general, rejected reports the EU was considering legally-binding assurances to help win support for the Withdrawal Agreement in the UK Parliament.
“On the EU side, nobody is considering this,” he tweeted on Monday afternoon.
“Asked whether any assurance would help to get the Withdrawal Agreement through the Commons, the answers of MPs were… inconclusive.
“The meeting confirmed that the EU did well to start its no-deal preparations in December 2017.”
Selmayr made the intervention following a meeting with the Commons Exiting the EU Committee in Brussels.
Tory MPs have demanded the Withdrawal Agreement be re-opened and the backstop changed as the price for them supporting any Brexit deal.
German chancellor Angela Merkel struck a more emollient tone. Speaking during a press conference today, she said a solution to the backstop could be found if both sides were “creative” and made an effort to “listen to each other”.
“We can use the remaining time to perhaps remove all the obstacles that have so far stood in the way and find an agreement - if everybody is willing,” she said.
May will visit Northern Ireland on Tuesday to give a speech to confirm her “absolute commitment” to avoiding a hard border with the Republic after Brexit.
The prime minister’s trip, which will also take in talks with local businesses, comes as she prepares to return to Brussels to demand the reopening of the Withdrawal Agreement.
Meanwhile, Downing Street poured cold water on speculation over an early election, saying that May was “absolutely not” considering a vote on June 6.
The spokesman also said it was “simply not true” that the government was drawing up plans for the evacuation of the Queen from Buckingham Palace in the case of civil unrest after a no-deal Brexit.