The British Parliament was supposed to vote on May's Brexit plan last week, but she postponed it after it became clear that MPs would decisively reject it.
MPs were outraged at not having a chance to have their say. May's own Conservative Party triggered a confidence vote in her party leadership, which she won, but a third of her party's MPs revolted against her.
Unable to secure any concessions from the EU at a summit, May faced reports in the Sunday Times that said her de-facto deputy, Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington, held talks with Labour MPs aimed at holding another Brexit vote.
In response, Lidington tweeted a link to a record of parliamentary proceedings in which he explained how a second vote could be "divisive not decisive".
May's chief of staff, Gavin Barwell, tweeted "Happy to confirm I am (asterisk)not(asterisk) planning a 2nd referendum with political opponents (or anyone else to anticipate the next question)"
With little time to resolve the impasse before Britain's departure from the EU on March 29, fears are growing that Britain could leave the bloc with no deal at all — a situation with potentially devastating consequences for the UK economy.
Underscoring the acrimony in the nation over Brexit, May and former Prime Minister Tony Blair of the Labour Party traded jibes in the media.
May accused Blair of "undermining" her efforts to deliver Brexit by calling for a second referendum on whether or not to leave. May said his comments were "an insult to the office he once held".
Blair shot back, saying he had a right to comment on "the most important decision our country has taken since the end of World War II".
He added: "What is irresponsible, however, is to try to steamroller MPs into accepting a deal they genuinely think is a bad one with the threat that if they do not fall into line, the Government will have the country crash out without a deal".
- AP
