The EU spring summit is proceeding today without the British prime minister, Theresa May, who left Brussels in the evening after giving reassurances that both Britain and the European Union were ready to get on with divorce talks.

Still, May but gave little away on when she will trigger the formal Brexit procedure. "Our European partners have made clear to me that they want to get on with negotiations and so do I. It is time to get on with leaving the European Union," she told a news conferen...