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French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that Britain will head for a no deal Brexit "for sure" if Theresa May's agreement is defeated for a third time.

Mr Macron cautioned that it was the British Parliament's responsibility to make sure Britain does not crash out of the bloc without a Brexit deal.

He said: "In case of a no vote (in Parliament) ... it will guide everybody to a no deal for sure," Macron said, speaking in English. "This is it."

Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel agreed, warning MPs that "if next week you are not able to find agreement in the House of Commons, we are going in the direction of no deal."

Their words come after Theresa May refused to rule out a no-deal Brexit as she arrived at an EU summit in Brussels.

Asked if she was preparing to crash the country out of the EU next week if she is defeated again in the House of Commons, the Prime Minister said her priority was to leave the bloc.

“What’s important is that Parliament delivers on the result of the referendum and that we deliver Brexit for the British people,” she said.

“I sincerely hope we can do that with a deal. I am still working on ensuring that Parliament can agree a deal so that we can leave in an orderly way. What matters is we deliver on the vote of the British people.”

She added: “It is now the time for Parliament to decide.”

Mrs May’s words gave weight to the impression that she is willing to let a chaotic Brexit happen if her own blueprint is thwarted.

However, leaked briefing notes prepared for Brexit minister Kwasi Kwarteng ahead of an interview showed that he was guided to say that if Mrs May is defeated, “MPs will have to decide how to proceed.”

Mrs May arrived early to hold a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of the summit.

She was due to plead with other EU leaders this afternoon to agree to postpone Brexit beyond March 29, now just eight days away.

EU leaders setting off for the talks said they would back a “short” extension of Britain’s EU membership. Irish premier Leo Varadkar said “there is an openness to an extension across the board”.

The Bank of England warned that Brexit uncertainties continue to weigh on economic confidence.

One of the UK’s major toilet tissue importers revealed it had been stockpiling to ensure it can maintain supplies in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

German-owned Wepa said it had stockpiled an extra 600 tonnes of finished product, or about 3.5 million rolls, in UK warehouses.

Earlier in the day it became apparent that Mrs May’s attempt to bully MPs into supporting her Brexit deal had backfired spectacularly as Parliament moved to kill it off and seize control of what happens next.

Sir Oliver Letwin, the architect of a cross-party plan to find a stable policy, told the Evening Standard his group has redrafted an amendment designed to let the House of Commons take over the Brexit process and is confident of getting the number of MPs needed.

At the same time, Mrs May was being deserted by some of the Right-wingers she has attempted to appease by increasing the threat of a no-deal exit, prompting senior MPs to speculate she could lose her third attempt at a meaningful vote by an even greater margin than last week’s 149-vote defeat.

The Prime Minister was described as under “extraordinary pressure” by Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. Another minister said she seemed to be “overwhelmed by frustration” when she made a televised address attacking Parliament last night.

In other key developments:

Former education secretary Nicky Morgan said the Cabinet and the Tory backbench 1922 Committee executive should tell the embattled Prime Minister “it’s time to go” if her deal is defeated a third time.

The Democratic Unionist Party’s Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson said his bloc could not back a plan that would open a gap between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, “something that an IRA terrorist campaign could not do”.

Mark Francois, vice chairman of the European Research Group of Tory Brexiteers, said Mrs May’s speech last night risked backfiring if it was aimed at winning over MPs for her deal: “You don’t do that by insulting them.”

German chancellor Angela Merkel expressed frustration, telling German MPs: “I regret to say that eight days before the UK’s departure from the EU, we still don’t have an answer to the Brexit issue.”

EU sources said Mrs May would probably be denied the three-month extension she has demanded to June 30, being offered only a six-week delay to May 22, to avoid British uncertainty contaminating European elections.

Thousands of troops have been put on “high readiness” to be deployed in a no-deal crisis, military sources said.

Sir Oliver said MPs will have a chance to restore order on Monday with a new amendment that would empower the Commons to vote on alternative options, such as a Norway-style soft Brexit deal.

Labour MP Hilary Benn is expected to be the lead name on the amendment, which has been significantly altered and simplified since a similar plan was lost by just two votes last week. The changes are thought to have won over five more MPs, achieving a majority.

Sir Oliver said: “While I welcome the Prime Minister seeking the extension to June 30, it is vital that whatever time the EU allows should be used to ensure that if the Prime Minister’s deal is defeated there is an alternative that can secure a majority in Parliament and enable us to leave the EU in good order by June 30.”

He said the debates would consider any option backed by MPs, but he believed there was support for a Common Market 2.0, keeping the single market and customs union.

During her TV address from Downing Street last night, Mrs May said the public was “tired of infighting and political games” and it was “high time” MPs made a decision on Brexit.

Afterwards potential Labour switcher Lisa Nandy told ITV’s Peston show: “There’s absolutely no chance she is going to win over MPs in sufficient numbers after that statement. I will not support a government that takes such a reckless approach.”

Former Welsh secretary David Jones, a leading Brexiteer in the ERG, said: “The impression I get from colleagues is a large number may not support the agreement who might have been minded to do so.”