Brexit talks deadline may need to be extended: Blair

Bloomberg

The UK should start planning to delay Brexit and extend negotiations with the European Union or face the disaster of leaving without a deal, according to former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
In an impassioned appeal for a change of course, Blair will warn that crashing out of the EU with no agreement will be “devastating” for the UK, as
he declares himself more worried than ever about the country’s future.
Blair believes Theresa May is allowing Britain to drift aimlessly towards exit day because the premier is so weak as to be “more a hostage than a leader.”
“We cannot go on like this,” Blair will tell the Chatham House think tank in, according to extracts released in advance by his office.
“We should plan now for the possibility we need to extend the March 2019 deadline.”
Blair’s intervention will deepen the divisions within the government over May’s handling of Brexit at a critical time as she prepares to finalise her list of negotiating demands. In his speech, he will also heap pressure on the main opposition Labour Party, which he used to lead, accusing it of failing to play its role in saving the country from ruin.
“Parliament must assert itself because neither Government nor Opposition can or will,” Blair will say.
“Then the people must make the final decision because only they have the right to decide what version of Brexit they want or whether in the light of all they now know they prefer to remain.”