SEETHING Tory hardliners lashed out at Theresa May as she revealed plans for a softer Brexit with Labour.
In a speech following a marathon seven-hour Cabinet meeting in which she fought off a revolt, the PM said she will ask the EU for a further extension until May 22.
Her official spokesman refused to rule out agreeing with Jeremy Corbyn for a Customs Union or even a second referendum on her deal.
But Nicola Sturgeon accused Mrs May of “kicking the can down the road” as she blasted her for failing to reach out to other parties.
The First Minister and Nats chief also warned the PM’s plan could be a “trap” to force a vote on her deal or No Deal.
Ms Sturgeon added: “What’s missing is an answer from her to the question that many MPs faced up to last night — what is the compromise she’s willing to make?
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“If MPs allow April 12 to pass with no commitment to fight Euro elections, May 22 becomes the inescapable exit day. The sensible way forward is agree to fight the election, seek a longer delay and allow the option of a public vote on what the Commons agrees.”
Opposing both a customs union and second referendum were Tory manifesto commitments.
The only element that Mrs May won’t negotiate is revoking Article 50 to cancel Brexit altogether, No10 said.
The PM’s spokesman would only add: “Unless there is compromise on both sides, we will not be able to find a way forward”.
The SNP’s Commons leader Ian Blackford claimed Scotland had been “utterly ignored through the Brexit process”.
He added: “The SNP has shown we are willing to find a compromise position to end the impasse.
“Time is fast running out and the Prime Minister must now seek a long extension to Article 50, bring this back to the people through a fresh referendum, and keep the option to revoke on the table to avoid a No Deal Brexit.”
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Senior Tories predicted a customs union with the EU is now an almost certain outcome to any cross-party deal.
The SNP have so far refused to back the idea unless it’s twinned with single market membership.
And supporters of Mrs May’s plan argued it was better to guarantee Brexit is delivered by the end of next month, even if it is a soft one, than risk losing it.
A Cabinet minister said: “We need to get Brexit over the line and worry about reshaping later”.
Fuming Boris Johnson said the pivot was “bitterly disappointing”, and “Brexit is becoming soft to the point of disintegration”.
Other Eurosceptics said MPs were talking about going on strike in a bid to “get rid” of Mrs May.
Ex-Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said: “What we are looking at now is a completely different set of arrangements dictated by Jeremy Corbyn — the worst political leader in the history of the Labour Party.”
PM'S STATEMENT
“I have just come from chairing seven hours of Cabinet meetings focused on finding a route out of the current impasse – one that will deliver the Brexit the British people voted for, and allow us to move on and begin bringing our divided country back together.
I know there are some who are so fed up with delay and endless arguments that they would like to leave with No Deal next week.
I have always been clear that we could make a success of No Deal in the long-term. But leaving with a deal is the best solution.
So we will need a further extension of Article 50 – one that is as short as possible and which ends when we pass a deal.
And we need to be clear what such an extension is for – to ensure we leave in a timely and orderly way.
This debate, this division, cannot drag on much longer.
It is putting Members of Parliament and everyone else under immense pressure – and it is doing damage to our politics.
Despite the best efforts of MPs, the process that the House of Commons has tried to lead has not come up with an answer.
So today I am taking action to break the logjam: I am offering to sit down with the Leader of the Opposition and to try to agree a plan – that we would both stick to – to ensure that we leave the European Union and that we do so with a deal.
Any plan would have to agree the current Withdrawal Agreement – it has already been negotiated with the 27 other members, and the EU has repeatedly said that it cannot and will not be reopened.
What we need to focus on is our Future Relationship with the EU.
The ideal outcome of this process would be to agree an approach on a Future Relationship that delivers on the result of the Referendum, that both the Leader of the Opposition and I could put to the House for approval, and which I could then take to next week’s European Council.
However, if we cannot agree on a single unified approach, then we would instead agree a number of options for the Future Relationship that we could put to the House in a series of votes to determine which course to pursue.
Crucially, the Government stands ready to abide by the decision of the House.
But to make this process work, the Opposition would need to agree to this too.
The Government would then bring forward the Withdrawal Agreement Bill. We would want to agree a timetable for this Bill to ensure it is passed before 22nd May so that the United Kingdom need not take part in European Parliamentary Elections.
This is a difficult time for everyone. Passions are running high on all sides of the argument.
But we can and must find the compromises that will deliver what the British people voted for.
This is a decisive moment in the story of these islands. And it requires national unity to deliver the national interest.”
If she is unable to reach a deal with Mr Corbyn, Mrs May said she would put a full array of alternative Brexit outcomes to a new Commons vote, and MPs will then decide what happens.
Her fresh plan was thrashed out during a seven hour Cabinet meeting yesterday that was peppered with fiery clashes between Remainers and Leavers.
No 10 said there was “collective agreement” among the Cabinet on Mrs May’s way forward, but would not confirm if it was unanimous.
One Cabinet source claimed that her decision to go for another delay was initially opposed by as many as 14 of the 29 members.
But another senior Government figure said only four opposed.
By late last night, none of the Cabinet had resigned and The Sun was told “nobody threatened to”.
Mr Corbyn accepted Mrs May’s offer for talks, saying he was “very happy” to do so.
He added: “I don’t want to set any limits, one way or the other. We recognise that she has made a move.”
Negotiations are expected to start today as the PM wants to tie up a plan before an emergency meeting of EU leaders next Wednesday.
The DUP said Mrs May’s decision to “sub-contract the future of Brexit” to Mr Corbyn came as “little surprise” due to her “lamentable handling” of Brexit negotiations with the EU.
Ms Sturgeon told MSPs she wants to axe the Holyrood Easter break over the crisis.
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