The EU is preparing for a delay to Brexit of at least a year, senior officials and diplomats have said.

Martin Selmayr, the EU’s top civil servant and one of the key figures in recent Brexit talks, backs a delay until March next year or even longer, according to sources. During a briefing to European ambassadors yesterday he said that an extension would have to be a “one-off” and could be short if Theresa May gets the withdrawal agreement through the Commons, or long enough for “UK elections and a new government” if she fails.

The ambassadors were sceptical about Mrs May’s chances of getting the deal through. “Leaders have no faith that anything they can give May will hold now or in the future,”