Europe’s top court says UK can unilaterally end Brexit

BRITAIN can unilaterally revoke its withdrawal from the EU, the European Court of Justice has ruled.

The ruling means the UK can decide to no longer go ahead with Brexit without the permission of the other 27 EU members.

British Prime Minister Theresa May held 11th-hour crisis talks with EU leaders yesterday as she agonised over whether to postpone tomorrow’s vote on her Brexit deal, which she is widely expected to lose.

With time running out, Ms May phoned the European Council president to explain that MPs would kill off the deal – and possibly her leadership – unless Brussels could throw her a lifeline.

Last night Mrs May also called Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to discuss the vote and Thursday’s summit in Brussels. Mr Varadkar’s support is crucial if Mrs May is to win any concessions on the backstop – the biggest obstacle to getting her deal through parliament.

Last night, even her closest allies were still unsure whether she would postpone tomorrow’s vote in the hope of winning fresh concessions from EU leaders at a summit in Brussels on Thursday, or press ahead and use her expected defeat to prove to the EU that the deal is dead.

Mrs May has told aides the solution to her dilemma lies with Brussels, having all but accepted that the vote is unwinnable. But one senior minister said Mrs May did not have a clear plan.

However, Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay yesterday insisted the vote would “100%” go ahead tomorrow, although senior British government sources said nothing was set in stone.