May stares into abyss

French President Emmanuel Macron warned Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday that Britain would face a disorderly departure from the European Union if she fails to get parliamentary approval for her deal on the third attempt next week.

Just eight days before Britain is due to leave the EU, May was making a last-ditch plea to the bloc's 27 other leaders in Brussels to hand her a Brexit delay until June 30, a request she said was "a matter of personal regret" and one she firmly pinned on her country's deeply divided parliament.

EU leaders are expected to grant her two extra months to organise a smooth exit -- but only on the condition that the British leader can get her deal through parliament, something even members of her own government increasingly doubt.

If she fails, leaders expect to meet again next week, to consider either a delay until next year to let Britain radically re-think its Brexit plans -- or pulling the plug and letting it crash out into legal limbo next Friday.