Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday published further assurances from the EU on the eve of a crucial parliamentary vote on her Brexit deal and warned MPs that rejecting it would lead to "paralysis" that could see Britain stay in the bloc.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk repeated in a letter that they would not reopen the divorce deal, but offered clarifications with "legal value" on a controversial clause.
May admitted their offer fell short of what she wanted, but said MPs now had the clearest assurances they were going to get -- and should support the deal.
"Whatever you may have previously concluded, over these next 24 hours, give this deal a second look," May told MPs in parliament.
"No, it is not perfect. And yes, it is a compromise." May had promised assurances on the so-called Irish backstop arrangement when she postponed a vote on the agreement in December, facing certain defeat in the House of Commons.
As MPs prepare to finally vote on Tuesday evening, large numbers of her own Conservative MPs and her Northern Irish allies are still strongly opposed.
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In a further setback, government whip Gareth Johnson -- a Brexiteer and one of the officials charged with getting MPs to vote for the deal -- announced his resignation. "It is clear this deal would be detrimental to our nation's interests," he said.
In a speech in Stoke, a Brexit-supporting city in the English Midlands, May repeated that the only way to avoid "no deal" was to support her agreement.
"If no deal is as bad as you believe it is, it will be the height of recklessness to do anything else," she said.
But with growing calls to delay Brexit or call a second referendum, she added: "It's now my judgment that a more likely outcome is a paralysis in parliament that risks there being no Brexit."
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