LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s parliament last month demanded Prime Minister Theresa May renegotiate a Brexit divorce deal that the other members of the European Union say they will not reopen.

With just 32 days until the United Kingdom is due by law to leave the EU, the options include a disorderly Brexit, a delay to Brexit or no Brexit at all.

May is pursuing a renegotiated deal, but faces a growing threat that she will need to choose to delay Brexit or be forced to do so by British lawmakers.

Below is a summary of what is due to happen next:

On Tuesday, May will make a statement updating lawmakers on her progress and lawmakers will have an opportunity on Wednesday to debate and vote on the way forward.

Several lawmakers in May’s Conservative Party, including some ministers, have indicated this will be the last chance they give her to find a way through the impasse.

Opposition Labour Party lawmaker Yvette Cooper plans to use that debate to seek lawmakers’ support for legislation that would force the government to decide between leaving without a deal or extending the Article 50 negotiation period if it has not had a deal approved by March 13.

May has promised to bring back a revised deal to parliament and hold a vote on whether to approve it by March 12.

Before a vote on the exit agreement in January, which May lost heavily, parliament held five days of debate. It is not clear whether there would be another lengthy debate this time.

May is required by law to get parliamentary approval for any exit deal.

EU leaders are due to meet in Brussels. This could be an opportunity for an eleventh-hour deal or it would be the last chance to agree an extension of the Article 50 negotiation period and delay Brexit to avoid no-deal disruption. If the summit goes badly and there is still no deal in sight then May will have to decide whether to delay or go for a no-deal Brexit.

If a deal is seen as viable at the summit, officials could work through the weekend to nail down the details with a final deal - and a possible extension to June 30 conditional on British parliamentary approval - announced on Sunday, March 24-Monday, March 25.

If a deal could be clinched, then the British parliament could vote on it, possibly on March 26. The European Parliament could ratify the deal that week.

If May does not get a deal approved by parliament by March 29, Britain faces a disorderly exit or may be forced to seek an extension of Article 50 to give more time to reach an agreement. It is not certain the EU would agree to this.

Some lawmakers, including opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, have said it is now “inevitable” that the government will have to seek an extension, as there will not be enough time to pass the legislation for Britain’s exit before March 29.

The leader of Britain’s lower house of parliament, Andrea Leadsom, has said the date might need to be pushed back by a couple of weeks.

The bloc will vote to elect a new European Parliament on May 23-26. The new chamber would sit from July 2, a date that is shaping up to be the EU’s limit for any extension of Article 50.

The EU says Britain would have to organise European Parliament elections on its soil if it were to delay Brexit beyond that as otherwise its people would be deprived of their democratic representation while still being in the EU. The bloc fears Britain would not do that.

Some in the EU also fear that, should Britain vote, it would elect a staunchly eurosceptic representation to the European Parliament that is already expected to have a larger contingent of EU critics influencing the bloc’s policies.

The main centre-right group, whose leaders include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, could also lose its place as the biggest in the European Parliament; UK Labour seats could help the European Socialists overtake the People’s Party, from which British Conservatives broke away to sit separately.

If a Brexit extension is sought, one date being talked about in Brussels is June 30, the Sunday before the new European Parliament sits at 10 a.m. (0800 GMT) on July 2. Some argue for an exit before May 23, the day Britain would otherwise be due to hold an EU election.</s>Ms Rudd and others warned Tory Brexiteers that Parliament will prevent them forcing a 'disastrous' no-deal break with the EU.

KEY developments in the British cabinet could cause Brexit MPs to vote for an adjusted UK Withdrawal Deal from the European Union (EU).

The vote would have taken place on Wednesday but British Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday delayed the vote, promising however that it would happen by March 12. She said that further meetings in Brussels on securing changes to the deal ruled out a meaningful vote in parliament this week.

Business Secretary Greg Clark, Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd and Justice Secretary David Gauke had issued a warning to Tory Brexiteers that Parliament will prevent them forcing a "disastrous" no-deal break with the EU.

They strongly believe that some 100 Tory MPs, who are in the extreme Brexit wing of the party, have to support Mrs May's adjusted deal.

If they don't, the ministers and several other cabinet colleagues and MPs will support moves to delay the March 29 Brexit date. So far, Mrs May has been against any delay, so she is encountering a potential cabinet revolt.

During the past week, Geoffrey Cox, the Attorney General, and Stephen Barclay, the Brexit Secretary, met Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator in Brussels.

They presented a draft "legal codicil" relating to the Irish backstop. This is the effective insurance deal that would keep open the borders between EU member nation, Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK.

The legal text is designed to ensure that there is a time-limit on the Irish backstop - the plan which would keep the UK in a customs union with the EU to prevent a hard border.

The withdrawal accord was originally rejected because Tory MPs feared that the backstop would last indefinitely.

Over the weekend, Mrs May had discussions with EU leaders and European Council president Donald Tusk at a summit of EU and Arab heads of state in the Egyptian resort of Sharm-el-Sheik. The aim was to obtain acceptance of the backstop codicil.

The ministers fear that the Brexit wing of the party may still vote down an altered deal and that there would then be a risk that the UK could crash out of the EU, causing a potential recession and disruption.

The Daily Mail reported that the three ministers wrote that "it is time that MPs recognised the need to get a deal, accepted that this is the only deal on offer, and supported it".

"Once the deal is passed, the benefits will be felt nationally. Optimism will surge, relief will be palpable. Too many of our parliamentary colleagues appear complacent about the consequences of leaving the EU without a deal," they warned.

"Our economy will be damaged severely both in the short and long term. Costs will increase, businesses that rely on just-in-time supply chains will be severely disrupted, and investment will be discouraged.

"Obviously, trade with the EU will become harder but so will trade with important non-EU economies, such as Japan and South Korea, with whom we currently trade with the benefit of free trade agreements available for EU members.

"Far from Brexit resulting in a newly independent United Kingdom stepping boldly into the wider world, crashing out on March 29 would see us poorer, less secure and potentially splitting up. It would be truly remarkable if this was as a consequence of Conservative MPs voting down the deal."

The ministers had added that if there wasn't a parliamentary breakthrough in the next few days, Parliament would "seek to extend Article 50 and delay our date of departure rather than crash out".

"If that happens, (Brexiteer MPs) will have no one to blame but themselves for delaying Brexit".

Anna Soubry, who quit the Conservatives to join an independent group of MPs who support another EU referendum, said the ministers' Daily Mail article illustrated that the cabinet was "deeply divided".</s>British Prime Minister Theresa May has postponed an expected "meaningful vote" on her widely maligned Brexit plan this week, saying MPs may have to wait until March 12 to have their say on the divorce deal.

Speaking to reporters before travelling to a European Union-Arab League summit in Egypt, May said on Sunday her Brexit negotiation team would continue talks with EU officials in a bid to secure a deal palatable to British legislators, ruling out a vote this week.

"We won't bring a meaningful vote to parliament this week but we will ensure that that happens by the 12th of March," May said.

"It is still within our grasp to leave the European Union with a deal on the 29th of March and that is what we are working to do," she added.

May had been expected to put her proposed divorce deal to a vote in the UK's lower chamber House of Commons on Wednesday.

The latest delay comes after her Brexit plan was resoundingly defeated last month by 230 MPs - the biggest parliamentary defeat in British history - and underlines the difficulty May is having in attempting to get the agreement ratified.

Reacting to May's announcement, the main opposition Labour Party accused the British leader of "recklessly running down the clock in a desperate attempt to force MPs to choose between her deal and no deal".

"This decision to further delay the meaningful vote is the height of irresponsibility... Parliament cannot stand by and allow this happen," Labour's Brexit Secretary Kier Starmer said in a tweet.

Starmer's comments were followed by a pledge from Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn to work with other parties' MPs to prevent a no-deal Brexit.

" Theresa May is putting the country at risk by recklessly running down the clock to force MPs to choose between her bad deal and a disastrous no deal," Corbyn said in a tweet.

"Labour will work with MPs across the Commons to prevent no deal, break the deadlock and build support for our alternative plan," he added.

On Sunday, May also rejected calls from members of her own cabinet to extend Article 50 - the exit clause in the EU's constitution - should she lose the rescheduled vote on her withdrawal plan in the House of Commons next month, saying it would not solve the ongoing impasse shrouding British politics.

Three of the May's cabinet ministers suggested on Saturday they would break with the British prime minister and back amendments to delay Brexit unless a deal is agreed in the next week.

The three - Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd, Business Secretary Greg Clark and Justice Secretary David Gauke - said they want a deal to be reached in the coming days but are worried about opposition from other MPs.

"Too many of our parliamentary colleagues appear complacent about the consequences of leaving the EU without a deal," the trio wrote in an article published in Britain's Daily Mail newspaper on Saturday.

With just 33 days until Britain is due to leave the 28-member EU, May is making last-ditch efforts to win concessions from the bloc on the divorce package, brokered after months of arduous negotiations between London and Brussels.

The EU has ruled out reopening the withdrawal agreement, though both sides are looking at a possible legal addendum to reassure MPs who worry the controversial Irish border backstop clause could keep Britain trapped in the EU's orbit for years to come.

The mechanism would guarantee no re-establishment of a hard border on the island of Ireland in the event that post-Brexit trade negotiations between the UK and the EU prove unsuccessful.

May's environment minister, Michael Gove, said on Sunday that "progress" was being made in attempts to secure changes to the backstop clause.

"It could be a time limit, I think it could be a unilateral exit mechanism. I think these things are possible and I think it could be another legally powerful protocol or addition to the treaty, which makes it clear that we would not be bound in the backstop indefinitely against our will," said Gove.

The ongoing unrest over Britain's bid to depart the EU marks the country's deepest political crisis in decades after nearly 52 percent of Britons - more than 17 million people - voted to leave the EU during the UK's June 2016 referendum.

Both of the country's major parties fractured last week, with parliamentarians quitting May's ruling Conservative Party and the main opposition Labour Party suggesting both were failed remnants of a political system in meltdown.</s>The Latest: UK's Labour says it will back new Brexit vote

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — The Latest on Brexit (all times local):

Britain's main opposition Labour Party has thrown its weight behind efforts to hold a new referendum on the country's European Union membership.

The party has previously said it would support a referendum as a last resort if it could not secure a new election or make changes to Prime Minister Theresa May's EU divorce deal.

In a change of emphasis, the party says leader Jeremy Corbyn will tell Labour lawmakers on Monday that the party is committed to "putting forward or supporting an amendment in favor of a public vote to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit being forced on the country."

Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29 but Parliament has so far rejected the deal struck between May's government and the bloc. Parliament is due to hold a series of votes Wednesday on next steps in the Brexit process.

British Prime Minister Theresa May remains convinced March 29 remains a realistic Brexit date, despite the EU urging Britain to delay its departure from the bloc to avoid a chaotic rupture.

May said after meeting with several EU leaders at a summit in Egypt that "it is within our grasp to leave with a deal on 29th of March and I think that that is where all of our energies should be focused."

She said that "any delay is a delay. It doesn't address the issue. It doesn't resolve the issue."

Moments earlier, EU Council President Donald Tusk had said a delay would be the "rational solution."

European Council President Donald Tusk says that the chances of a Brexit deal being sealed are receding and he is urging British Prime Minister Theresa May to request that the negotiations be prolonged.

Tusk said Monday that "it's clear that there is no majority in the House of Commons to approve a deal."

He said: "I believe that in the situation that we are in, an extension would be a rational solution."

He added that May's 27 European partners would show "maximum understanding."

British Prime Minister Theresa May is under pressure to delay the country's departure from the European Union, after she postponed a vote in Parliament on her Brexit deal with the bloc.

May is holding meetings with EU leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday at an EU-Arab League summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, as she seeks elusive changes to the U.K.-EU divorce agreement.

Britain's Parliament has rejected the deal once, and May has just over a month to get it approved by lawmakers before Britain's scheduled departure day of March 29. May says a new vote won't be held this week and could come as late as March 12.

A group of lawmakers will try this week to force the government to delay Brexit.</s>With apologies to the revered Séamus Mallon, we are finally looking at "Brexit for slow learners".

With apologies to the revered Séamus Mallon, we are finally looking at "Brexit for slow learners".

John Downing: 'Brexit for slow learners' may finally be about to kick in - but there are many obstacles ahead'

The fearless SDLP stalwart's comments, on the cusp of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, reflected wistfully on the squandered opportunities of the December 1973 Sunningdale Agreement, and the scandalous loss of life which followed through two decades of murder and mayhem after its failure.

Now, four weeks and three days from "B-day" on March 29, the political elite in the UK are finally having a real debate about leaving their biggest and nearest trading partner after 46 years. It's a national discussion, offering some real economic and political information, which should have been engaged more than two years ago.

Now Labour's notoriously anti-EU leader Jeremy Corbyn has signalled his party would back a second Brexit referendum if parliament rejects its alternative plan for leaving the European Union. Prime Minister Theresa May at least nominally continues to seek changes to her exit deal to help get necessary support from the London parliament.

Labour's decision changes the dynamic. It could damage her hopes of winning support for a revised deal in a vote she has promised by March 12. It might attract MPs set to have backed her agreement to avoid a no-deal Brexit, but who now prefer a second referendum.

Tomorrow is another B-day in Westminster with a complex series of cross-cutting votes being tabled. Labour will push a permanent customs union with the EU and close alignment with the bloc's single market.

But if that fails it will push for another referendum.

Labour has also said it would support a bid by its MP Yvette Cooper empowering parliament to force Mrs May to delay Brexit by seeking an extension to the Article 50 negotiating period.

The timing of all this remains uncertain and it may take a few more weeks to play out.

Mr Corbyn has been under serious pressure for some time to support a second referendum. Last week, eight referendum-supporting MPs quit the Labour Party in large part because of his failure to back another vote.

But UK Labour remains riven on the issue - almost as much as the governing Conservatives. So, we are looking at movement here, but things are far from being resolved.

We may, however, be on the cusp of important and welcome change.

For this writer, reporting Brexit brings as much job satisfaction as trying to lift a broken fried egg from a frying pan as part of the Saturday fry-up. It involves a round-up of what veteran politicians always term "definite maybes".

Today, finally, we get to dial down a few of those "maybes".

We can now say that a crash-out Brexit will not happen on March 29 next. We can also say we have taken a move closer to a second Brexit referendum.

Many Irish people understandably cling to the idea of a second Brexit vote, which would undo the nightmare outcome of that referendum on June 23, 2016.

But let's keep things real here, remembering that such a vote is not guaranteed just yet, nor is its outcome in any way assured.

Face the facts: UK voters, even if they get to vote, could well again say "Leave".

But, on the plus side, a second Brexit vote cannot happen without a longer delay on the EU-UK divorce process. Smart money is on a two-year extension - that of itself would be a big help to Ireland's situation.

It implies that the draft Withdrawal Agreement, agreed by Mrs May and her EU counterparts at a special leaders' summit on November 25, could be put on ice. Negotiations could then proceed on the future EU-UK trading relationship, a process which more optimistic Brussels diplomats suggest could be completed in two more years.

That would defuse the row over the Irish Border backstop, that device which obviates the need for the return of visible controls along that often benighted stretch between Dundalk and Derry. Elements in Brussels suggest the ultimate outcome could amount to allowing "the UK to pretend they are leaving the EU".

But such terms are unhelpful to Ireland's interests because they can in practice cost jobs and livelihoods. Let's just stay with the concept of a "soft Brexit", which would be a very good outcome for Ireland, the UK and the rest of the EU.

Silly-boy triumphalism will not save wage packets. Our nearest neighbour, and a very important trading partner, has long been up in heap about its relationship with the EU. There is only loss - no gain - from any kind of gloating here on the Irish side of the equation.</s>PM May considering delaying Brexit deadline for two months

Prime Minister Theresa May is considering a plan under which Britain’s exit from the European Union would be delayed for up to two months, the Telegraph reported on Sunday. British government officials have drawn up a series of options, which were circulated at the weekend, in a bid to avoid resignations by ministers determined to support a backbench bid to take a “no deal” Brexit off the table this week, according to the Telegraph.

Those options include making a formal request to Brussels to delay Brexit if May cannot secure a deal by March 12, the newspaper reported, without citing sources.

May put off a vote in parliament on her Brexit deal until as late as March 12 – just 17 days before Britain is due to leave the EU – setting up a showdown this week with lawmakers who accuse her of running out the clock.

As the Brexit crisis goes down to the wire, May said a so-called “meaningful vote” would not take place this week as expected. Parliament will still hold a series of Brexit votes on Wednesday, but May’s deal itself will not be on the table.

On her way to an EU/Middle East summit, May said she is close to bringing home changes to her agreement that would satisfy objections to it, but needed time for meetings with European leaders which meant it would not be ready this week.

“We won’t bring a meaningful vote to parliament this week but we will ensure that that happens by the 12th of March,” May told reporters on board her plane. “It is still within our grasp to leave the European Union with a deal on the 29th of March and that is what we are working to do.”

Opponents accuse her of deliberately running out the clock, so as to force parliament to choose between a deal it has already rejected or leaving the EU with no deal at all, which businesses say would destroy their supply chains.

Both May’s Conservatives and the main opposition Labour Party are formally committed to exiting the EU in line with a 2016 referendum vote, but both parties are internally divided over how or even whether to do so.

Before May set off for Egypt, three members of her cabinet publicly split with government policy and said they would side with rebels and opposition parties to stop a no-deal Brexit.

Yvette Cooper, an opposition Labour lawmaker who has proposed a bill that would block a no-deal Brexit, said May’s “last minute announcement that she won’t put a deal to parliament this week, and is leaving it until just two weeks before Brexit day, is utterly shambolic and irresponsible”.

“She cannot just keep drifting and dithering like this or there is a real risk our whole country tumbles off a cliff edge into a chaotic no deal that no one is ready for and that would hit food prices, medicine supplies, manufacturing and security.”

Some lawmakers will seek to grab control of Brexit in Wednesday’s series of votes, though such attempts have previously been defeated as May sought more time to get a deal.

Senior Labour figures said that the main opposition party was moving closer to supporting another Brexit referendum and could do so as soon as early as this week. Nine Labour lawmakers and three Conservatives quit their parties last week in the biggest shakeup of its kind in British politics for decades, raising the prospect of further defections from both parties.</s>Jeremy Corbyn tonight backed a second referendum on Brexit warning it was better than the 'damaging' Tory deal.

The Labour leader has bowed to months of pressure from activists and many of his MPs and promised to back a public vote in the Commons on Wednesday.

Mr Corbyn will order his MPs to first vote in favour of Labour's version of Brexit based on a permanent customs union with the EU.

But if that is lost - and it will be - Labour will then vote in favour of blocking a no deal Brexit and will either support an MPs' referendum plan or Mr Corbyn will table his own.

The Labour leader will hope the dramatic move will stop any more MPs quitting to join the new Independent Group of MPs.

Mr Corbyn's surprise shift makes a new referendum on Brexit much more likely - but far from certain as dozens of Labour MPs representing Leave areas oppose the idea.

He is due to speak to Labour MPs at 6pm and will say: 'The Prime Minister is recklessly running down the clock, in an attempt to force MPs to choose between her botched deal and a disastrous No Deal. We cannot and will not accept.

'Last week, after our visit to talk to EU officials and leaders in Brussels and Madrid, no one can be in any doubt Labour's alternative Brexit plan is serious and credible.'

He added: 'We will also be backing the Cooper-Letwin amendment to rule out a No Deal outcome.

'One way or another, we will do everything in our power to prevent No Deal and oppose a damaging Tory Brexit based on Theresa May's overwhelmingly rejected deal.

'That's why, in line with our conference policy, we are committed to also putting forward or supporting an amendment in favour of a public vote to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit being forced on the country.'

Labour's Brexit plan involves a permanent customs union with the EU, which would rule out the UK signing its own trade deals.

It also calls for close alignment with EU single market rules, matching standards on workers and the environment, and a security deal.

Theresa May has refused to accept the Labour plan - insisting it compromises the referendum result - but it has been backed in Brussels as a possible escape route.

Labour MP David Lammy, who backs a new referendum, said: 'It is welcome news that the Labour Party is now, at long last, signalling it will accept the principle of giving the public the final say on Brexit.

'Even if MPs can agree some sort of deal, it would be wrong to force it on the British people when we now know so many of the promises made in 2016 have been broken and any deal will be worse than the one we've already got inside the EU.

'These are dangerous times for the Labour Party and our country. Jeremy Corbyn is today taking the first step to reunite our party by showing he is listening to our voters and members on this, the biggest issue of our time.

'But it is also crucial when food prices are already rising and car manufacturers are scrapping investment that we provide the clarity needed to plan for the future.'

Labour MP Clive Lewis, who backs the Best for Britain campaign, said: 'With this announcement we're now offering real and unambiguous opposition to Tory Brexit and giving the public the final say on the issue.

'To my mind we would never have been forgiven for facilitating Tory Brexit.'

MP Rachael Maskell added: 'Labour voters and members across the country are clear that they didn't vote for the mess Brexit has got us into.

'Labour must fight to rebuild Britain, and do so by working with European partners across the continent to reject the isolationist, divisive path the Tories have taken our communities on over recent years.'

Pressure has been mounting on Mr Corbyn to back a new referendum on Brexit after he tried and failed to collapse the Government last month.

The defection of eight of his MPs to the new Independent Group last week made it even more unlikely he could win a new confidence vote to force an election.

Labour deputy leader Tom Watson added to pressure yesterday by threatening to unilaterally back the People's Vote campaign yesterday.

Asked yesterday if he was about to join the clamour for a vote, Mr Watson told Marr: 'If Theresa May can't find it within herself to meet our red lines, closer economic union, then obviously our conference policy says that the next stage would be in favour of a people's vote.

'So if we get to that point, then yes, I will be on the march.'</s>Irish premier Leo Varadkar said the UK will either delay Brexit or leave the EU with a deal at the end of March.

Amid growing pressure on Theresa May to delay Brexit with just 32 days left to go, Mr Varadkar said he is confident the UK will not crash out of the EU at the end of next month.

Speaking to reporters before a meeting with the British Prime Minister in Egypt, Mr Varadkar said a no-deal Brexit is a “lose-lose-lose” scenario for everyone.

The Taoiseach travelled to Egypt to take part in the first ever EU-Arab League summit in Sharm El-Sheikh.

“Brexit isn’t officially on the agenda, but given that there are over 20 EU heads of state and government here, there will be lots of meetings on the sideline about it,” he said.

“What’s evident to me is that absolutely no-one wants the United Kingdom to crash out of the EU without a deal.

“That gives me confidence, or at least a sense that the UK will not crash out of the EU without a deal on 29 March. We will either have a deal or have an extension.”

Addressing rumours that Mrs May will seek an extension to Article 50, Mr Varadkar said that the EU cannot consider an extension until a request is made.

He added: “From my point of view and from Ireland’s point of view, I would certainly rather see an extension than the UK leaving without a deal.

“A long extension does create a complication in terms of the European elections and so on, but that’s a small complication relative to the impact on our economy and Northern Ireland if there is a no-deal Brexit.”</s>Emily Thornberry Says Second Referendum Should Be Between PM’s Deal Or Remain

The shadow foreign secretary said Labour’s second referendum bid should be a choice between Theresa May’s Brexit deal or remaining in the EU.

Emily Thornberry added that in the event there was another vote, she would campaign for Remain.

She said the party had been left with “no choice” but to make the move which was announced on Monday evening.

Iain Dale told Ms Thornberry another vote was an “insult” to the five million Brexit supporting Labour voters at the last election.

Labour will now support or put forward an amendment in favour of a public vote to "prevent a damaging Tory Brexit being forced on the country”.

The party is also backing the Cooper-Letwin amendment to rule out a no deal outcome.

Speaking on LBC, Ms Thornberry said: “If we have a Prime Minister not prepared to budge, not prepared to engage, then we need to call on the people to help break the logjam.

“It should be a choice between Theresa May’s deal and remaining, and I will be campaigning to Remain in those circumstances.”</s>MPs will be able to have a final vote on the Brexit deal by 12 March, Prime Minister Theresa May has said.

Speaking to reporters as she travelled to a summit in Egypt, Mrs May also ruled out holding the Parliament vote on her deal this week.

She said talks with the European Union were "still ongoing".

It comes as Environment Secretary Michael Gove urged his cabinet colleagues against backing a Commons vote on delaying Brexit.

Mr Gove said it would be the "wrong thing to do" if cabinet ministers Greg Clark, Amber Rudd and David Gauke supported the bid, which would push back the UK's exit date of 29 March.

Speaking to the BBC's Andrew Marr, Mr Gove refused to say whether they could keep their jobs if they backed a delay.
• Brexit must not be frustrated, May vows

The trio made their intervention in the Daily Mail, saying they would support moves to extend Article 50 - the legal mechanism to see the UK leave the EU on 29 March - to avoid a "disastrous" no deal Brexit, unless a deal is agreed "in the next few days".

But Mr Gove said: "It's not just about a potential extension of Article 50, it's about taking power away from the government. And who knows where we might end up?

"We might end up with a second referendum, which would do real damage to our politics."

Mr Gove said progress was being made in Brexit negotiations between the UK and EU but that he did not know if there would be a final vote on the Brexit deal in the Commons this week.

On Wednesday, MPs will be able to put forward a range of amendments to show what direction they want Brexit to take.

One, tabled by Labour's Yvette Cooper and Conservative Sir Oliver Letwin, would give Parliament the opportunity to delay Brexit and prevent a no-deal situation if there is no agreement with the EU by the middle of March.

In the Daily Mail. Business Secretary Mr Clark, Work and Pensions Secretary Ms Rudd and Justice Secretary Mr Gauke said if the European Research Group of pro-Leave backbench Tory MPs stood in a way of the withdrawal deal, they would be forced to vote for the amendment.

The ERG would then have "no one to blame but themselves for delaying Brexit," the trio said.

Tory MP and leader of the ERG, Jacob Rees-Mogg told BBC Radio 5 Live's Pienaar's Politics that, for ministers, "the act of voting against the government is the act of resignation".

The prime minister has said there must be no party "purges" over MPs with differing views.
British MPs will vote on the latest Brexit deal by March 12, according to Prime Minister Theresa May.