Good morning. David Meyer here, filling in for Alan from Berlin.

Apologies for harping on about Brexit, but it’s just too momentous and horrific a saga to avoid right now, and British Prime Minister Theresa May is just providing too many lessons in bad leadership.

May’s humiliation continued at last night’s European summit. The good news is that the EU has granted the U.K. a two-week extension on the Brexit date, which is now shifted from March 29 to April 12 unless the British Parliament green-lights the negotiated Brexit deal, in which case it’s May 22. The bad news is that the prime minister had asked for an extension until the end of June, but was unable to convince the other EU countries’ leaders that she had the slightest grip on events.

According to both Politico and the , May was unable to answer basic questions from her counterparts about what she would do if she fails next week to win parliamentary approval for the Brexit deal, what she was doing to prepare for a no-deal Brexit, or even why she wanted a three-month extension. The result was that they took control of the process. The Brexit timetable is now effectively out of May’s hands.

There’s still a possibility that a long extension could appear, if May’s deal fails a third time as expected and the U.K. heads for new elections or a second Brexit referendum. But the chances of a no-deal Brexit on April 12 are considerable—so I’ve put together a guide to explain what that would actually mean for British businesses. Spoiler: it ain’t pretty.</s>Follow the latest updates as people descend on London to march for a second vote on the UK’s departure from the EU</s>The UK’s departure date from the EU has been pushed back by at least two weeks after talks with EU leaders. Originally, Britain was due to exit the institution on March 29. During a summit in Brussels, the Prime Minister agreed that if she can get her withdrawal agreement backed by a majority of MPs next week, the exit date will be pushed back to May 22.

Brexit latest: The SEVEN Brexit options if May's deal is DEFEATED

However, if Mrs May fail getting her already twice-defeated deal through Parliament, the UK will propose a way forward by April 12 for EU leaders to consider.

This means that as for now, all options are still open - including that of a no-deal scenario.

In the event of a no-deal Brexit, the UK will leave the institution across the pond without any plans for their future relationship.

The no-deal scenario would see Britain fall back on World Trade Organisation (WTO) tariffs and increase the price of imports and exports.

READ MORE: Brexit BLOCK: How lorry drivers will 'bring UK to its KNEES' if Theresa May BETRAYS Brexit</s>Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Nine minutes condense into just ninety seconds - aerial footage shows vast crowd of protesters

Hundreds of thousands of people have marched in central London calling for another EU referendum, as MPs search for a way out of the Brexit impasse.

Organisers of the "Put It To The People" campaign say more than a million people joined the march before rallying in front of Parliament.

Protesters carrying EU flags and placards called for any Brexit deal be put to another public vote.

On Thursday, European leaders agreed to delay the UK's departure from the EU.

PM Theresa May is coming under pressure to quit after saying she might not put her Brexit deal to a third vote by MPs.

Speakers at the rally included Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, former Tory turned independent MP Anna Soubry and former attorney general Dominic Grieve.

Crowds were told the initial count showed more than a million people had turned up - putting it on a par with the biggest march of the century, the Stop the War march in 2003.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Marchers called for a "proper vote" and said they'd been "sold down the river"

There was no independent verification of the numbers but BBC correspondent Richard Lister, who was at the scene, said it was a "very densely packed" protest and people were still arriving in Parliament Square five hours after the march began.

He said: "The organisers say it was one million-strong, it's very hard to verify those kinds of claims but this was a very significant march, well into the hundreds of thousands."

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Protesters carried a mixture of homemade and official placards

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Protesters marched past some of London's most famous landmarks

Image copyright PA

Labour's Tom Watson told the crowd in Parliament Square that Mrs May's deal was a "lousy" one - whether you voted Leave or Remain.

He said he had this message for her: "I can only vote for a deal if you let the people vote on it too. Prime Minister, you've lost control of this process, you're plunging the country into chaos, let the people take control."

Ms Sturgeon said now was "the moment of maximum opportunity" to avoid a no-deal Brexit.

At the scene

By Katie Wright, BBC News, in Park Lane

The streets around Park Lane were teeming with people hours ahead of the march's scheduled 1pm start, having come from all corners of the country - and some from further beyond.

The blue and yellow of the EU was splashed all over the ever-expanding crowd, which was full of groups of families, friends, colleagues and political groups.

Many people came draped in flags and carried homemade signs, featuring slogans ranging from playful - "Never gonna give EU up" - to political - "Forget the Ides of March - beware the Brexit of May". And then there were the plain angry - "Brexit is treason".

One member of the crowd, German-born vet Chris Reichmann, described it as a "carnival" atmosphere - with "lots of different nationalities" but "really British in a way".

And it was noisy, with some of London's most recognisable streets overflowing with people marching steadily to a soundtrack of beating drums, whistles and blaring horns.

Occasionally the hordes would erupt into spontaneous cheering, as well as chants of "What do we want? People's vote. When do we want it? Now!"

Game Of Thrones star Lena Headey, Strictly Come Dancing presenter Claudia Winkleman and Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys were among the famous names to take to the streets.

Sadiq Khan joined demonstrators at the front of the march as it began, holding up a "Put it to the People" banner.

He was flanked by Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable, who tweeted that there was a "huge turnout of people here from all walks of life".

But veteran Conservative MP John Redwood told the BBC: "We know that 16 million people wanted to stay in the EU, and some of those would still like to stay in the EU, and within that quite a few would like to have another go and have another referendum - but it was always a minority."

Image caption Aerial pictures taken from a helicopter showed the scale of the crowds

The prime minister wrote to all MPs on Friday saying she will ditch plans to put the deal to another so-called meaningful vote on her withdrawal deal if not enough MPs support it.

Unless her deal is passed by MPs, the UK will have to come up with an alternative plan or else face leaving without a deal on 12 April.

Downing Street sources have denied reports in the Times newspaper that discussions are under way about a timetable for the prime minister to step down.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption People gathered at Hyde Park Corner before marching towards Parliament

Image copyright EPA Image caption People chanted for a "People's Vote" as they marched, accompanied by marching bands, whistles and cheers

Meanwhile, a record-breaking online petition on Parliament's website calling for Brexit to be cancelled by revoking Article 50 has attracted more than four million signatures.

As the number of signatures on the petition continued to climb, its creator Margaret Georgiadou said she had "received three death threats over the phone", and a "torrent of abuse" via her Facebook account.

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran said the petition could "give oxygen" to the campaign for another Brexit referendum.

Voices from the march

Image caption Sisters Calypso and Sophie Latham, from London

"I think a second vote might not be an entirely democratic solution because it would put into question every referendum we ever did. But I wanted to show my anger - that I'm against xenophobic, racist and nationalistic rhetoric that is being spewed everywhere in the news to justify Brexit." Law graduate Sophie Latham, 22

"I was too young to vote in the last referendum. It's going to affect my career with research grants so I definitely wanted to come and protest." Calypso Latham, 19, science student

Image caption Lin and Rob Worthy from Oxford

"We've had so many opportunities growing up in the EU - freedom of travel, equal pay, sexual equality and so on. Will our kids get the same?" Lin Worthy, self-employed

"This is the first time in my life at the age of 62 that I've come to something to make a statement because I see no future for this country, for my kids or my grandkids. It's just a total mess so I thought I've got to make a stand." Rob Worthy, 62, self-employed

Image caption Simon Mead (right) with his 14-year-old daughter Aurore, from Bristol

"My partner is French, my two children are British-French, it has already caused lots of problems, having to apply for different passports has cost us lots of money. We've seen European friends leave Bristol - German and Spanish friends." Simon Mead

"I really wanted to come because it's a big part of my future and my life." Aurore Mead, 14

Image caption Lee and Richard, from Gloucestershire

"My costume has been deflating since I put it on at 11 this morning - which could be a metaphor for Brexit". Lee, Gloucestershire

"I didn't get a vote but I moved to this country from Germany 20 years ago as a vet. I think it's a really silly decision. Now we've got a deal, the people should vote and see if that's really the deal the people want. I won't get a vote again but it has a massive implication on my life. Chris Reichmann, Ashford

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Nigel Farage said the People's Vote march in London were not the majority

The march comes as the pro-Brexit March to Leave, which started in Sunderland a week ago, continues towards London.

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage re-joined the March to Leave in Linby, near Nottingham, on Saturday morning telling around 200 Brexit supporters that Mrs May had reduced the nation "to a state of humiliation".

Speaking from the top of an open-top bus, Mr Farage said those gathering for the People's Vote march in London were not the majority, before leading the marchers through the village.</s>LONDON — “Hello, and welcome aboard the People’s Vote express from Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington,” Sally Patterson, 23, said into the microphone, before handing it back to the conductor.

With that, a chartered train carrying students departed on Saturday morning for a march in London that is expected to draw hundreds and thousands of people, all of them agitating for Britons to be given another vote on the country’s plan to leave the European Union.

The idea that the British could still be debating in late March a reversal of the coming split from the bloc, a process known as Brexit, once seemed far-fetched. The country had been scheduled to leave on March 29.

But Parliament remains deadlocked. The left and right despise Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan. And even as deadlines were pushed back and European leaders preached patience with their counterparts in London, the prospect of a calamitous no-deal Brexit looms closer every day.</s>Over one million people opposed to Britain's withdrawal from the European Union marched through central London on Saturday to demand a new referendum as the deepening Brexit crisis risked sinking Prime Minister Theresa May's premiership.

Over one million people opposed to Britain's withdrawal from the European Union marched through central London on Saturday to demand a new referendum as the deepening Brexit crisis risked sinking Prime Minister Theresa May's premiership.

'Never gonna give EU up' - Over one million march through London to demand new referendum on Brexit

Marchers set off in central London with banners proclaiming "the best deal is no Brexit" and "we demand a People's Vote" in what organisers said could be the biggest anti-Brexit protest yet.

Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon told the rally in Parliament Square that “the prime minister and her government have proved completely incapable of delivering on the result of the 2016 vote, which is why it is right that this should now go back to the people."

Addressing the crowd Anna Soubry of The Independent Group, Conservatives Justine Greening and Philip Lee, Green Caroline Lucas, the Lib Dem’s Jo Swinson, the SNP’s Ian Blackford and Labour’s David Lammy and Rosena Alin Khan took it in turns to criticise the Brexit process.

After three years of tortuous debate, it is still uncertain how, when or even if Brexit will happen as May tries to plot a way out of the gravest political crisis in at least a generation.

May hinted on Friday that she might not bring her twice-defeated EU divorce deal back to parliament next week, leaving her Brexit strategy in meltdown.

"I would feel differently if this was a well managed process and the government was taking sensible decisions. But it is complete chaos," Gareth Rae, 59, who travelled from Bristol to attend the demonstration, told Reuters.

"The country will be divided whatever happens and it is worse to be divided on a lie."

While the country and its politicians are divided over Brexit, most agree it is the most important strategic decision the United Kingdom has faced since World War II.

Pro-EU protesters gathered for a "Put it to the people march" at Marble Arch on the edge of Hyde Park around midday, before marching past the prime minister's office in Downing Street and finish outside parliament.

While there was no official estimate of the numbers, campaign organisers said hundreds of thousands of people were in the crowd as it began to march.

Organisers were confident that the size of the crowd would exceed a similar rally held in October, when supporters said about 700,000 people turned up.

Phoebe Poole, 18, who was holding a placard saying "never gonna give EU up" in reference to a song by 1980s popstar Rick Astley, wasn’t old enough to vote in the 2016 referendum.

"We have come here today because we feel like our future has been stolen from us. It is our generation that is going to have to live with the consequences of this disaster," she told Reuters.

"It is going to make it harder to get a job. You are already seeing a lot of large companies leaving. I am worried about the future."

Two hundred coaches from around Britain were booked to take people to London for the march. One coach left the Scottish Highlands on Friday evening, and another left from Cornwall on England's western tip early on Saturday morning.

A petition to cancel Brexit altogether gained 4 million signatures in just 3 days after May told the public "I am on your side" over Brexit and urged lawmakers to get behind her deal.

In the June 23, 2016 referendum, 17.4 million voters, or 52pc, backed Brexit while 16.1 million, or 48 percent, backed staying in the bloc.

But ever since, opponents of Brexit have been exploring ways to hold another referendum.

May has repeatedly ruled out holding another Brexit referendum, saying it would deepen divisions and undermine support for democracy. Brexit supporters say a second referendum would trigger a major constitutional crisis.

We already put it to the people. And the people roared," pro-leave group Change Britain said in a tweet.

Supporters of Brexit say that while the divorce might bring some short-term instability, in the longer term Britain would thrive if cut free from what they cast as a doomed experiment in German-dominated unity that is falling far behind other major powers.

Some opinion polls have shown a slight shift in favour of remaining in the European Union, but there has yet to be a decisive change in attitudes.

Many voters in Britain say they have become increasingly bored by Brexit and May said on Wednesday that they want this stage of the Brexit process to be "over and done with."

But protesters disagreed with May's claim that she is on the side of the British public, with one placard reading: "You do not speak for us Theresa."</s>LONDON (AP) — Anti-Brexit protesters flooded into central London by the hundreds of thousands on Saturday, demanding that Britain's Conservative-led government hold a new referendum on whether Britain should leave the European Union.

The "People's Vote March" snaked from Park Lane and other locations to converge on the U.K. Parliament, where the fate of Brexit will be decided in the coming weeks.

Marchers carried European Union flags and signs praising the longstanding ties between Britain and continental Europe. The protest drew people from across Britain who are determined to force Prime Minister Theresa May's government to alter its march toward Brexit.

Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable, invited to help lead the march, called the crowd impressive and unified.

"There is a huge turnout of people here from all walks of life, of all ages and from all over the country," he tweeted. "We are a Remain country now with 60 percent wanting to stop the Brexit mess."

Police did not provide a crowd estimate. Independent legislator Chuka Umunna and others supporting a second Brexit referendum estimated the crowd at 1 million.

More than 4 million people endorsed an electronic petition this week in favor of revoking Article 50, the act that formally triggered the Brexit process.

The march comes as May, who opposes a second referendum on Britain's EU membership, is easing away from plans to hold a third vote on her troubled Brexit withdrawal plan, which has been strongly rejected twice by Parliament.

In a letter to lawmakers on Friday night, May said she might not seek passage of her Brexit withdrawal plan in Parliament next week. The embattled leader said she would only bring her EU divorce plan back to Parliament if there seems to be enough backing for it to pass.

"If it appears that there is not sufficient support to bring the deal back next week, or the House rejects it again, we can ask for another extension before 12 April, but that will involve holding European Parliament elections," she said.

May's changing stance reflects the plan's dismal chances in the House of Commons after two prior defeats.

She also says she would need the approval of House Speaker John Bercow to bring the plan back for a third time. Bercow has said a third vote would violate parliamentary rules against repeatedly voting on the same thing unless May's Brexit divorce plan is altered.

Almost three years after Britons voted to walk away from the EU, the bloc's leaders this week seized control of the Brexit timetable from May to avert a chaotic departure on March 29 that would be disruptive for the world's biggest trading bloc and deeply damaging for Britain.

EU leaders at a summit in Brussels set two deadlines for Britain to leave the bloc of nearly half a billion people or to take an entirely new path in considering its EU future.

They agreed to extend the Brexit date until May 22, on the eve of the EU Parliament elections, if May can persuade the British Parliament to endorse her Brexit divorce deal.

Failing that, they gave May until April 12 to choose between leaving the bloc without a divorce deal or deciding on a radically new path, such as revoking Britain's decision to leave, holding a new referendum on Brexit or finding a cross-party consensus for a very different kind of Brexit.

Despite May's letter to lawmakers, it was not clear what path her minority government would take this week.

The anti-Brexit marchers on Saturday included 63-year-old Edmund Sides, who spent the last three weeks walking from Wales to London in order to take part.

Sides, a geologist, said he wanted to be able to speak to people along the way, encouraging families that have been split between Leave and Remain to mend their fences and talk.

"The whole country isn't doing enough of that," he said.

He is worried about the vicious tone that Brexit arguments have started to take and worries about national cohesion.

"People fear the atmosphere is very dangerous in this country," Sides said.

___

Danica Kirka contributed to this report.

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Follow AP's full coverage of Brexit at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit</s>BRUSSELS (AP) — A small group of British citizens who oppose Brexit were in an Irish pub in Belgium’s capital when they watched a vote on their country’s future.

The James Joyce pub was as good a symbol as any of the easy multinational unity the Britons drinking beer Tuesday night think their country gives up by leaving the EU.

“It feels like an example of the things Britain is choosing to walk away from, which makes me very sad,” Anthony Zacharzewski, a British-Polish citizen who runs a nonprofit organization in Brussels that promotes political participation and democracy, said.

Two men played darts while the British patrons kept their eyes fixed intently on one of the pub’s televisions, waiting for lawmakers in London to say “yea” or “nay” to the withdrawal deal British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government negotiated with the rest of the EU

The atmosphere in the bar, located down the road from the EU’s executive headquarters, was melancholy, even for an Irish pub. Co-owner, Jessica Fitch, summed up the mood, saying Brexit makes her “feel like something has been ripped away from me.”

The agreement’s resounding defeat drew a smattering of applause. Both hard-core Brexit backers, who think the deal doesn’t go far enough to sever ties, and strong supporters of the EU, who hope for a close relationship after the breakup if Brexit isn’t canceled, contributed to the lopsided 391- 242 in the House of Commons.

The anti-Brexit crowd booed May and cried “Yes! Yes!” when the possibility of the U.K. abandoning its planned March 29 departure was mentioned. Fitch searched for positives in the vote’s outcome.

“I suppose it was good that it got defeated so that this isn’t actually a vote for Brexit,” she said. “But at the same time, it’s just another vote to delay the uncertainty.”

While the British friends watched the vote, other patrons watched another contest between Britain and a part of Europe playing out on a different TV, Manchester City’s UEFA Champions League soccer match against German club Schalke.

At least the match gave the British side a clear victory with Manchester City’s 7-0 win.

Tuesday’s vote in London set the stage for two more votes. Parliament is set to vote Wednesday on whether to leave the EU as planned but without a deal. If lawmakers say no to that, they would consider Thursday whether to ask the EU to delay the March 29 Brexit date.

Zacharzewski said he might not return to the James Joyce to watch it all unfold

“If they get to one meaningful vote per day, I may have to slack off a bit,” he said as he headed out into a wet Brussels night.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.</s>Hundreds of thousands of people have marched on Parliament in the UK - to demand another referendum on Brexit.

Crowds are cheering several speakers on a stage in central London - including ex-Tory Anna Soubry, London mayor Sadiq Khan and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Meanwhile - British Prime Minister Theresa May admits she may not get enough support to get her Brexit deal through the Commons next week.</s>Thousands are expected to march on Westminster today (March 23) demanding the final say on Brexit.

Protesters, politicians and celebrities from across the country are heading towards London for the 'Put it to the people' march in Parliament Square at midday.

Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner and South Cambs MP Heidi Allen have already announced they will be at the march today.

Speeches are expected to be given by Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson, Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon and member of the newly founded Independent Group Anna Soubry.

The protest takes place on the same day Nigel Farage and other pro-Brexit supporters will be continuing the 'March to leave' hike from Sunderland to London, which started last weekend.

It comes after Prime Minister Theresa May announced that there would be a delay to Britain leaving the EU; and a petition demanding that Brexit not happen at all crashed the Government's petitions website after getting more than 3.5 million signatures in 48 hours.

You can stay updated with the events of the march below in this live blog:
Approximately one million Britons assemble for the People's Vote March in London, United Kingdom advocating for an additional referendum on Brexit.