INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
By Tom Rayner, political correspondent The prime minister will today attempt to persuade France and Germany to support her request for
another Brexit delay, ahead of an emergency summit of EU leaders tomorrow.Theresa May will meet Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin this
morning, before later travelling to Paris to hold talks with President Emmanuel Macron.She is expected to urge them to accept her request
for a delay until 30 June, despite indications from EU Council President Donald Tusk that a longer extension - potentially through to March
2020 - would be preferred by Brussels.Image:Getting the support of Mrs Merkel and Mr Macron will be key for the PMAny decision to delay the
UK's departure must be taken unanimously by the 27 EU leaders when they meet tomorrow night.The French president has indicated he could veto
an extension if Mrs May does not present a credible plan for how she intends to get parliament to ratify the Brexit withdrawal agreement.The
last-minute bilateral meetings come as senior cabinet figures prepare to resume talks with Labour in an effort to find an alternative Brexit
approach that could win cross-party backing.A Downing Street spokesperson said they were "committed to finding a way through in order to
ensure we can leave the EU and deliver on the referendum"."That will require the parties to work at pace in order to address outstanding
issues - and so ministers and their shadow counterparts will be holding talks tomorrow [Tuesday]," they added.A Labour spokesperson also
confirmed that both sides would seek to "attempt to secure a Brexit compromise".Corbyn: I've got many concerns over dealHowever, Jeremy
Corbyn has restated his complaint that the government had not yet indicated where it was prepared to make changes."The key issues that we
must see real movement on to secure an agreement are a customs union with the EU, alignment with the single market and full dynamic
alignment of workers' rights, environmental protections and consumer standards," the Labour leader said."We are prepared to talk and put
forward our view, but talks have to mean a movement and so far there has been no change in those red lines."Last night, MPs and peers
approved legislation that places a legal obligation on the prime minister to seek an extension from Brussels in order to avoid a no-deal
exit on Friday.The legislation was put forward by Yvette Cooper as part of a cross-party backbench effort to take control of the
parliamentary agenda from the government.It was passed by the House of Commons by 390 votes to 81.The new law has required the government to
put forward a motion for debate in the Commons later today that will seek approval for the PM's 30 June extension request.MPs will be able
to amend the date proposed, although it is not thought there is sufficient opposition to the proposal for it to be changed.The EU have made
clear any exit date later than 22 May would require European parliament elections to be held in the UK.The government insist they remain
committed to avoiding that outcome, but yesterday Tory Chairman Brandon Lewis emailed all the party's candidates, admitting: "It is clear
that we need to make contingency plans."Image:The bill was passed by the House of Commons by 390 votes to 81De-facto deputy prime minister
David Lidington and the Attorney General Geoffrey Cox also wrote to MPs to confirm "the government's policy is to leave the EU with a deal
before 23 May so that the UK does not need to participate in the European Parliament elections".But they too acknowledged that under the
current law, if Britain is still a member of the EU by then it had to participate in the poll.The move sparked outrage from some Tory
Brexiteers, with Sir Bill Cash accusing the government of igniting a "firestorm".
