FILE PHOTO: British Labour Party politician Hilary Benn briefs the media after a meeting with officials to discuss Brexit at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 4, 2019. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May needs to back up her shift in Brexit strategy with action but if she is moving towards a softer Brexit, that would be welcome, influential Labour lawmaker Hilary Benn said on Tuesday.

May said she would ask the European Union for a further delay to Brexit beyond April 12 to give her time to sit down with the opposition Labour Party in a bid to break the impasse over Britain’s departure.

“If this is the first indication she will shift, then that of course is important, but if it’s just the same old story, it isn’t,” Benn told the BBC, adding that if it meant May was moving towards a softer Brexit, “of course I would welcome it.”