EU will never accept May's 'plan-B': Barnier

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator has ruled out ever accepting Theresa May's Brexit 'plan-B', in a major blow to the prime minister's bid to get MPs to back her deal.

Michel Barnier said repeated requests for a time-limit on the controversial backstop had already been discussed and rejected twice by EU leaders.

In a joint interview to continental newspapers Barnier said “we cannot tie the backstop to a time limit” as suggested by the prime minister.

He said the withdrawal agreement on the table was “the only possible option” for Britain and also ruled out the possibility of a so-called “managed no-deal” as advocated by some Tory Brexiteers, reported The Independent Online.

“In the case of no-deal action will of course be taken to ensure that planes can land but … the 'no-deal' cannot be a sum of mini-deals and be a situation of 'business as usual',” he told Le Monde, Rzeczpospolita and Luxemburger Wort.

“Even an agreement for an ordered Brexit will cause disruptions and have serious consequences. The 'no-deal' even more so.”

Barnier also said: “The question of limiting the backstop in time has already been discussed twice by the European leaders, in November and in December 2018.

“This backstop is the only one possible because an assurance is no longer operational if it is for a limited time. Imagine if it were to be limited in time and the problem arose after expiry: it is useless!”

Meanwhile, May yesterday said attempts by some lawmakers to use parliamentary procedure to delay Brexit did not address the underlying decision about how Britain should leave the European Union.