perhaps didn't give them the assurances she wanted. again, something to look out for when we listen to these press conferences later on. so many different legal aspects to what is being decided at the moment so a good time to check in with kenneth armstrong, professor of european legal affairs at the university of cambridge. i talked to him earlier and putting to him some of the points that we are going to be discussing over the course of next week, first and foremost, how do we change the date that is set down in law, the 29th of march? if indeed there is an extension... the first thing is if the eu 27 itself agree an extension to the end of... up to me the 22nd, if this happens, then in terms of uk domestic law ministers would need to present to parliament art regulation to change the exit date itself so that will itself possibly take a day to do. i think we could be looking at next thursday, an emergency

council agreeing a specific date for an extension and then perhaps on friday parliament having on the 29th of march to set a new exit date. it is worth saying that if parliament was to get round another planet if they vote theresa may's deal down and have indicative votes and site, market number two or norway plus at as it is known as one of the —— common market number two or norway plus as it is known, it is vital the support it, but it could be added to the withdrawal agreement quite easily? not so much and the withdrawal agreement but into the political declaration. i think everybody on the eu site has been clear and michel barnier said this in brussels on tuesday that if the uk house of commons wants to have a different version of brexit, then that could be reflected in a new political declaration relatively easily. now, firstly we would need to know what

that consensus really looked like, but in principle it would be possible that an emergency summit next thursday for revision to the political declaration to reflect perhaps a more open version of a future relationship that was different from the one that the government has currently been pursuing... kenneth armstrong at the university of cambridge. i was just telling you this line that the 22nd of may which was in the draft conclusion as the end of the conclusion may have been taken out of the draft conclusion. some reporting form an rte reporter who understands the article 50 extension date has been removed and replaced by, quote, another consideration. we will try and bring some news on the course of the next hour. for more reaction we have been joined by dia chakravarty, the brexit editor of the daily telegraph. we area we are a bit up in the air at the moment and we don't know what the terms of the extension are. and we are also hearing that may be theresa may hasn't impressed too many people

this afternoon. maybe because she can't give them answers. that is exactly right. i listen to your programme earlier and you were saying that we will be hearing theresa may's dots later on when she gives a press conference and i was thinking that is quite ambitious... are we actually going to see what her thoughts are? when has she really ever shared her thoughts with anybody? i think it was catastrophic i think the announcement she did yesterday was as though in the process of trying to win more people over and seemed very much like she had lost more people. if anything we we re had lost more people. if anything we were seeing tweets from labour mps such as lisa nandy, the sort of mps from leave constituencies who theresa may we need on her site... if she has any chance of getting the dealfor next week, if she has any chance of getting the deal for next week, even if she has any chance of getting the dealfor next week, even if if she has any chance of getting the deal for next week, even if the speaker allows you to get this deal in front of the parliament again, with theresa may it seems like if you have a charm offensive and you don't have the charm itjust seems offensive.

this whole exercise has been about keeping the conservative party together, remain as an brexiteers in the cabinet, but are we getting to the cabinet, but are we getting to the point next week where she must pick a side? we have said many times, how long for, it is too long? it is just not the time anymore to keep two sides happy and good on the middle—of—the—road and therefore risk getting run over from both sides. but she seems somehow to manage to straddle those two sides and instead of bringing both sides together she seems to lose more and more people from both sides. it is intensely frustrating to hear about the short extension as well, seeming as though with anything it is one step forward and a few steps backwards. if it is not the 22nd of may now, what is the date? we don't know and we can sit and speculate but it will be the 30th ofjune, will it, like mrs may request a? or a longer extension? we don't know. we do is sit here and wait. do you see anything in theresa may's character to convince you she would

ta ke character to convince you she would take her country out of the european union without a deal? i think union without a deal? ithinka union without a deal? i think a lot more now depends on the eu. for what i am hearing from my eu based, sorry my brussels—based colleagues, from the eu 27 it is now an exercise of weighing up the uncertainty of a very long extension and what do we do exactly with that time, what we tell businesses and individuals? what are we doing with the extension period? and the perils of living without a deal, which would affect ireland very badly as well, that is the view of the eu and they would want to stick up for their own member. so i think now it would be quite a lot... i know the word coming from the eu is we've done everything we could and it is now up to london but i think ultimately a lot will also depend on the eu, whether they decide to go with the lesser of two evils, whether you like, along extension going into uncertain times or an eu exit without a deal.

what is the telegraph or you are hearing about the leadership and how long theresa may has in the job? if the vote goes down next week, i know she can't officially be removed until december, but those grey men in suits, are they waiting in the wings unlikely to try to remove her in the course of the next week if the vote goes down? there are many views within the telegraph, so unless we have written in editorial i cannot tell you for certain the telegraph view but i think other people who have the eye on the leadership prize, if you like, have not been quite as brave as they could have been. if they all think, and i think a lot of them think, and i think a lot of them think they could have done a better job than mrs may, they have not been forthright in coming forward and claiming the leadership, staking a claiming the leadership, staking a claim to the leadership trophy either. i think to a certain extent... i hope i am not being unfairto extent... i hope i am not being unfair to them but to a certain extent there's this sense that this is home so let her sort it out. once there it is a decision, we will do

whatever we can with whatever is left there. but i feel frustration that a lot of people if they feel they could have done a betterjob, they could have done a betterjob, they haven't spoken up soon enough. yes, and let's face it, if all this pressure and taking them right to the wire forces the deal through next week, i can't see it at the moment but i suppose it is possible, if she were to do that, wouldn't everybody look at theresa may and say, my goodness, faced with everything that she was left with david cameron, the difficulty of pulling the house of commons together and the splits in her own side, the eu leaders here, to come out of it with a deal, she'd be reinvigorated? i think that is probably the price theresa may has got her eyes on. if there is any chance of pulling this through, i will probably be able to salvage my legacy. but it does seem like with every passing day, whatever gains she makes she goes a few steps backwards. i am still in short about the announcement last

night. —— in shock. i have not spoken to anybody impressed by that andi spoken to anybody impressed by that and i have not spoken to anybody impressed by that speech to change their minds to bring people together. i just don't see what their minds to bring people together. ijust don't see what her plan is in order to even try to win more people, in order to get the deal through, even if the speaker allows it. what is the game plan? i cannot tell. i was just reporting before it came to you that the 22nd of may, which was the date which was in the draft conclusion, that this has been removed from the text, and i did say it was a draft conclusion, and since then meeting in the round the 27 and discussing this, it was likely to change. indeed it has. alan fleming is now saying that the extension would be towards the beginning of may, possibly the 7th of may. why do you think the eu side might be looking at that date rather than the

day just before looking at that date rather than the dayjust before the european elections? interesting, i don't know. this is the first time hearing about it. i wonder if they feel that the deal mrs may has has not gone through by then, whether they would need a bit of time in order to push the uk towards elections? do think that could be at? i don't have the date to my hand so i don't know whether the last date would be for submitting nominations and that sort of process... i don't really know when that would happen. could it possibly be that this is some sort of threshold where if the deal hasn't passed through parliament by then, then the motion... then the uk must set into motion the process of taking part in the eu parliamentary elections? we have heard this from the ambassadors before the eu 27, the ambassadors before the eu 27, the ambassadors before the eu 27, the ambassadors before, but if by any chance the uk ends up being part of the european union beyond the european union election,

parliamentary election time, then we would have to contest in those parliamentary elections. so maybe that could be it... just speculation. i don't know. thank you, dia chakravarty. it is eight o'clock here in brussels. this is bbc news. here in brussels, we are covering the european summit. you we heard it would be the 22nd of may, that has been taken out of the conclusions, still waiting to hear detail. eu leaders say they will agree to theresa may's request to delay the uk's exit from the bloc. but what date will they choose? such an extension should be conditional ona an extension should be conditional on a vote next week in the house of

commons. we have done our