The UK and the EU have agreed a "flexible extension" of Brexit until 31 October
European Council President Donald Tusk has urged the UK to "not waste this time" and said the extension could be terminated if a withdrawal deal is agreed
The PM said the UK would still aim to leave the EU as soon as possible
She has been updating MPs on the extension in the Commons
Talks between the government and Labour to try to find a way forward are continuing
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Image source, HoCTory Eurosceptic Anne Main says the UK is seeking a further delay to Brexit "with no real sense of purpose", describing the situation as "appalling".
She says the UK is "becoming a laughing stock", and she will vote against authorising any further extension to Article 50.
The prospect of an "open-ended extension", she adds, is "incredibly concerning".
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House of Commons
Parliament
Labour's Yvette Cooper welcomes the motion, having been the MP behind the bill forcing Theresa May to ask for an extension by law.
She says she thinks it "reflects the fact the cabinet has taken seriously that advice and that Parliament as a whole has resisted the damage and the chaos that a no-deal would cause".
The backbencher says the purpose of her bill is to give a "safeguard" to stop the PM succumbing to the "pressure to slip backwards on the course she has decided on".
Ms Cooper also criticses Mrs May, saying she "simply ran down the clock" on Brexit and "tried to use the threat of an imminent deadline" to secure her deal, in a "continued game of chicken".
She adds: "It is frustrating for people across the country who are tearing their hair out about the way this has happened.
"The truth is there has been different views about different kinds of Brexit... and we have to be honest about those different views, tease them out and debate them, rather the thinking the ticking clock will solve them."
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Tory MP Tim Loughton says Brexit should be "resolved" not "kicked down the road even further".
He says the cross-party legislation requiring the motion today is a "catastrophe", backed by "Remain-supporting MPs who think they can overrule the will of constituents".
He blames Labour MPs for the current Brexit impasse, saying they have "consistently voted against any deal on offer".
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Labour's Matthew Pennycook also says the cross-party talks between Labour and the government will fail - unless ministers accept "fundamental changes" to the Brexit deal.
He says finding a "stable majority" for a cross-party plan will require assurances on how any changes can be "entrenched", so they can't be "ripped up" by the next PM.
It will also need "the requirement for seeking public approval for any agreement that might emerge at this late hour by means of a confirmatory referendum", he adds.
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Image source, Getty ImagesIrish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar says he is "confident" an extension to the UK's exit date from the EU will be agreed at the emergency summit tomorrow.
He says discussions between EU leaders would focus on the length of any extension and the conditions applied to it, such as shaping a new Common Agricultural Policy and electing the next president of the European Commission - and whether the UK could be involved in these decisions.
Mr Varadkar says many EU countries are concerned that Brexit is "taking up so much of the EU agenda".
He adds that the Irish government has no objection to a long extension, but he did not want to see that leading to the re-opening of the withdrawal agreement.
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Image source, HoCShadow Brexit minister Matthew Pennycook says Labour will back the motion, but any further extension to the UK's exit date must be used to find a “different way forward”.
In response to an intervention, he says the PM's suggested extension until 30 June is "not particularly realistic" and has been done for "party management".
Labour would expect the government to accept a "reasonable" extension beyond this date, he says, on the condition the UK could leave once a withdrawal deal is agreed.
He adds that if this were the case, Labour would support it.
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House of Commons
Parliament
Another Tory MP, Sir Hugo Swire, asks whether successful British candidates to the European Parliament would be entitled to compensation if they cannot take up their seats.
He asks for an assurance that any compensation required would be paid by the EU.
Solicitor General Robert Buckland says he will "not get into any discussions about the question of liability".
House of Commons
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Tory MP Sir Patrick McLoughlin asks what the latest date is to start the process for holding European Parliament elections.
In reply, Solicitor General Robert Buckland says there is a need to "distinguish" between the need to hold elections in May, and the requirement to sit in the new assembly.
The European Parliament will not reconvene until early July, he says.
In reply to a question from Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith, he says the UK would not be required to take up seats in the new session if Brexit had taken place.
House of Commons
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Solicitor General Robert Buckland opened the debate by saying: "Government did not want to be in this position."
He said he did not say it "in a spirit in seeking blame, but in a moment of solemn reflection".
Mr Buckland said it was a "great disappointment" that MPs did not back Theresa May's withdrawal agreement, but said the government must find a plan for the way forward.
And he called the bill leading to the debate "unnecessary" as the government is already seeking an extension.
Image source, ReutersMPs are now debating the motion authorising the PM to seek a Brexit delay until 30 June.
There were two amendments to the main motion that had been tabled - but Speaker John Bercow announces he has not selected either for debate.
The first of these, backed by the SNP, would have prevented Theresa May from seeking an extension to Article 50 which ends any earlier than this date.
The second, from Tory Brexiter Peter Bone, would only authorise an extension until 15 April.
The leader of the DUP says watching the PM go back to Brussels for another extension to Brexit is "rather humiliating".
Arlene Foster told the BBC: "It is rather humiliating that we are having to go and beg so that we can leave."
She said she found it "painful to watch what’s going on", with Theresa May "now pleading to stay in to deal with matters that should have been dealt with before now".
Ms Foster criticised Mrs May, saying: "She needed to be strong, she needed to show leadership, and I’m sorry to say that has not been evident in this past couple of months".
House of Commons
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Labour's Chris Bryant says he is sceptical about the value of the UK having a sanctions regime outside the EU process.
"When you can work in concert with your closest allies, you are far more likely to achieve success than if you go it alone", he says.
Tory Brexiter Sir John Redwood says he agrees sanctions are more effective when a greater number of countries take part.
But he says the possibility of the UK taking a "distinctive approach" is an opportunity, for example by bridging the gap between the EU and US over the Iran nuclear deal.
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Adam Fleming
Brussels reporter
Diplomats say that at this morning’s meeting of the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg “sightly more than a handful” of member states spoke in favour of an extension of the Article 50 process until 30 June, and a majority were in favour of a longer extension.
No maximum end date was agreed for a long extension, although December 2019 and March 2020 have been mentioned.
There was a discussion about conditions which would apply to the UK, which included British participation in the European Parliament elections, no re-opening of the withdrawal agreement, and how to guarantee the UK’s pledge of “sincere co-operation” in ongoing EU business .
On this last point, possible options include a form of words agreed by the UK and the EU or a series of “rendezvous” points, where both sides check whether the arrangement is working.
EU27 ambassadors will have further discussions at a meeting in Brussels this evening, where it’s expected they will consider a first draft of the written conclusions to be agreed by leaders on Wednesday night.
Brexiteers addressed The Bruges Group earlier, calling on EU leaders to reject Theresa May's request for an extension tomorrow.
Here are some pictures of the event.
Image source, EPAThe countdown to Brexit is on, with the UK currently due to leave on Friday
Image source, EPATory MP Mark Francois speaking from a lectern with a picture of former PM Margaret Thatcher
Fellow Brexiteer Andrew Bridgen makes his case for no extension
Anne-Marie Morris joins fellow European Research Group members to address the meeting
Image source, PAAfter the current debate on sanctions finishes, MPs will debate a motion to authorise Theresa May to request a Brexit delay until 30 June.
The motion is required because last night a cross-party group of MPs succeeded in passing a law which forces the PM to request an extension to Article 50 - which sets the date for the UK to leave the EU.
They introduced the law with the aim of preventing a no-deal Brexit, but ministers say it is unnecessary because the PM has already requested an extension.
The length of any extension will be decided by EU leaders at an emergency summit taking place in Brussels tomorrow.