Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Brexit: Macron says EU and Britain will decide timeframe for no deal if Theresa May’s deal not approved by 12 April

French prime minister warns risk of UK crashing out of Europe without an agreement is real

Tom Embury-Dennis

Friday 29 March 2019 15:35 GMT

✕

Third major defeat for Theresa May as MPs reject her Brexit agreement by 58 votes

French president Emmanuel Macron has said that if the British parliament does not approve Theresa May’s Brexit deal by 12 April then Europe would decide with Britain on the timeframe for its exit.

It came moments before MPs on Friday rejected the British prime minister’s attempt to get her withdrawal agreement through parliament.

“The implications of the house’s decision are grave, the legal default now is that the United Kingdom is due to leave the European Union on 12 April,” Ms May told the Commons after her latest defeat.

Mr Macron said the risk of a no deal on 12 April was real.

“At that moment, we will have to decide on the timeframe to implement [a no-deal exit] ... and therefore we will accelerate the final phase of preparations,” Mr Macron said.

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

Show all 30

1/30Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

Pro-Brexit leave the European Union supporters attend a rally in Parliament Square after the final leg of the "March to Leave" in London

AP

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

The protest march which started on March 16 in Sunderland, north east England, finished on what was the original date for Brexit to happen before the recent extension

Reuters

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

AP

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

Reuters

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

PA

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

Reuters

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

EPA

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

A Brexit supporter sips a can of Stella in protests outside of the Houses of Parliament

AFP/Getty

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

Dedicated anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray and likewise pro-Brexit campaigner Joseph Afrane go head to head near the Houses of Parliament

AFP/Getty

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

A pro-Brexit marching band in Parliament Square

Getty

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

Remain supporters wave EU flags from a bus in Parliament Square

PA

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

A Brexit supporter shouts slogans outside parliament

EPA

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

A Brexit supporter protests outside parliament

Reuters

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

A Brexit supporter protests outside of the Houses of Parliament

Getty

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

Brexit supporters protest outside of the Houses of Parliament

REUTERS

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

A pro-Brexit flag is waved in Parliament Square

AP

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

The March to Leave nears the Houses of Parliament

Reuters

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

A Brexit protester holds a sign outside parliament

EPA

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

Brexit supporters carry the coffin of democracy

AFP/Getty

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

Brexit supporters march outside parliament

AFP/Getty

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

Brexit supporters take part in the March to Leave protest in London

PA

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

Brexit supporters protest outside parliament

AFP/Getty

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

A Brexit supporter holds a sign outside the Houses of Parliament

Getty

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

A man holds satirical paintings of politicians

Reuters

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

An pro-Brexit float on the March to Leave march in London

Reuters

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

Far-right activist Tommy Robinson addresses protesters outside the Houses of Parliament

Getty

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

A Brexit supporter outside the Houses of Parliament

Reuters

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

A Tommy Robinson supporter arrives at the Houses of Parliament

Getty

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

A jogger gestures rudely at a Brexit supporter outside of the Houses of Parliament

AFP/Getty

Opposing protesters flock to parliament on would be date of Brexit

A Brexit supporter outside the Houses of Parliament

PA

Of all the countries that would be most directly impacted by a no-deal outcome, France was the best prepared, Mr Macron said in remarks delivered as May pleaded with lawmakers before putting the doomed, stripped-down version of her deal to another vote.

But Brexit is now most likely on course for a lengthy delay, after Ms May’s withdrawal agreement lost by a margin of 58 votes.

In dramatic scenes in the House of Commons, MPs voted by 344 to 286 against the deal as hundreds of protesters staged a noisy demonstration outside on the day when the UK was due to leave the European Union.

The result of the crunch vote means that the UK has missed an EU deadline to secure an extension of the Brexit process and leave with a deal on 22 May.

Ms May now has until 12 April to go back to Brussels with new proposals and seek a longer extension to the negotiation process, or see the UK leave without a deal that day.

With a clear majority in the Commons against no deal, and with MPs once more seizing control of the timetable on Monday, Ms May said that the UK would have to find “an alternative way forward”.

Theresa May says withdrawal agreement defeat 'should be matter of profound regret'

This was “almost certain” to involve the UK having to stage elections to the European Parliament in May, she said.

European Council president Donald Tusk called an emergency summit of EU leaders in Brussels on 10 April to discuss the implications of the vote.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for a general election unless the prime minister was willing to find an alternative deal.

Additional reporting by PA

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies