16:36

Paris reiterated its tough line on Tuesday afternoon, insisting no extension could be granted to the UK without the government presenting a credible “new strategy or plan” which would need to have parliament’s backing. An Elysée official said:

Playing for time just for the sake of playing for time would not constitute a project or strategy. Now is not the time for procrastinating.

Paris, which is impatient for the EU to turn to other issues of reform rather than facing much more time bogged down in Brexit, has reiterated that it needs concrete solutions from London. France won’t back an extension unless it comes with a clear, new, credible plan which can gain majority parliament support.

France has insisted that the withdrawal agreement, which won’t be renegotiated, is a ticket to exit the EU in an “organised” way.

The source at the French presidential palace said London must give clarity on the way forward: “An extension is merely an instrument, it’s not a solution or a strategy in itself ... Now is not the time for pondering or looking at perspectives on Brexit”, instead it was the final hour to find a concrete plan.

Paris is adamant that it wants to protect “the functioning of the EU”. If a longer extension were to be granted, for example 12 months, “we would have to look at the implications of that”, in terms of how a country planning to leave would have a seat and a say in key future decisions, the official said.