Brexit talks in deadlock

• EU 'drops plan' for November summit citing no progress 
• UK PM's longer transition period plan draws cross-party rebuke at home

European leaders have dropped plans for a special November summit to complete a Brexit deal because of a lack of progress in negotiations, and have ramped up preparations for a chaotic split.

British Prime Minister Theresa May offered "nothing new" in a presentation to EU leaders at a critical meeting in Brussels, Belgium, the head of the European Parliament said Wednesday.

EU leaders ordered negotiations to continue, and left open the possibility that a November summit could yet take place if a breakthrough can be reached, two EU sources told CNN. But they also ordered officials to intensify their preparations for a "no-deal" scenario.

May confirmed yesterday she was open to extending a Brexit transition period if it helped unblock negotiations, but the proposal came under fire from all sides in Britain's fractious political landscape.

EU negotiator Michel Barnier suggested the extension as a way of breaking the deadlock on how to keep Britain's border with Ireland open after Brexit, which is holding up the whole divorce agreement.

May emphasised she did not expect the extension to be needed beyond the current date of December 2020.

But hardcore Brexit backers and pro-EU loyalists alike rounded on the premier on the extension plan.

Several heavyweight Brexiteers in May's governing Conservative Party wrote a joint open letter, warning May she would never be forgiven if Brexit results in "surrender".

The letter was signed by former foreign secretary Boris Johnson and ex-Brexit secretary David Davis -- their first joint intervention after resigning in July over May's Brexit blueprint, which would keep Britain close to the EU on trade.

Britain is due to leave the EU in March 2019.

Conservative "soft Brexit" backer Nick Boles summed up the situation. "She is losing the confidence now of colleagues of all shades of opinion," he told BBC radio.

May's critics are not limited to her own party or hardcore Brexiteers, with pro-EU voices weighing in.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan, from the main opposition Labour Party, denounced where May's negotiation was leading the country.

The knives were also out in the press.

The Sun, Britain's Brexit-backing and biggest-selling newspaper, said the latest EU "ruse is an insult she must repel".

"The proposal to keep us shackled to the EU for another year beyond the transition period is an outrageous non-starter," the tabloid said.