London – 10 April 2019

1. London bus passing EU flags and sign reading (English) "Stop the Brexit mess" outside House of Parliament

2. Flags and people outside parliament

3. Row of anti-Brexit signs outside parliament

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Anand Menon, analyst and Director of UK in a Changing Europe:

"I think it's absolutely crucial to get this extension because no one wants Britain to fall out with 'no deal' on Friday. It would obviously hurt Britain very badly, but it will hurt a lot of other member states who trade closely with us as well. So I think there is a pressure on all sides, particularly on the British government. It is absolutely true, Mrs (Theresa) May has gone there (Brussels) as a demander asking for a favour from her European colleagues. I suspect they'll give her it, but then that leaves the problem still unresolved: what is Britain going to decide to do."

5. EU flags and sign reading (English) "Stop the Brexit mess"

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Anand Menon, analyst and Director of UK in a Changing Europe:

"Mrs May is in a really invidious situation. She doesn't want a long delay, she still wants the withdrawal agreement to go through so we could leave in May. The problem she has is that a lot of people in her own party are saying 'I will reject a long delay, the Prime Minister should go if we get a long delay' without actually suggesting any practical alternative. So there's a lot of people playing games behind her, posturing, not least because they want to replace her as prime minister, and it makes her position really difficult."

7. Headline of The Times newspaper reading (English) "Don't humiliate May, Tusk warns Macron" ++MUTE++

8. Headline of Daily Mail newspaper reading (English) "Another year in limbo" ++MUTE++

9. Headline of The Daily Telegraph newspaper reading "May's fate sealed with a kiss as EU plots long Brexit delay" ++MUTE++

10. Street outside parliament

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Elsbeth Williams, 52, from North Wales, now living in Spain:

"I think she'll definitely get an extension because nobody apart from the absolute disaster capitalists - and there's plenty of those in the ERG (European Research Group) - want to crash out. Business certainly doesn't."

12. Row of anti-Brexit signs outside parliament

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Rob Iddeson, 47, from London:

"It's democracy in process so I'm not angry, I'm disappointed because although I voted to remain the decision was made. It was a democratic decision and from my perspective we should honour that and go forward. So, yeah, not angry but disappointed that it has taken so long."

14. Street outside parliament

15. Exterior of the Palace of Westminster

Just days away from a potentially calamitous no-deal Brexit, European Union leaders meet Wednesday to discuss granting the United Kingdom a new delay - possibly of up to a year - to its departure from the bloc.

It's likely to be a rough day for British Prime Minister Theresa May as she pleads for a second extension until June 30, to prevent Britain's scheduled departure from the EU this Friday.

Brexit analyst Anand Menon, the director of UK in a Changing Europe initiative, said the Prime Minister is in "really invidious situation", where she is trying to avoid a long delay but cannot deliver Brexit due to some of her own party members "playing games behind her".

He added May was heading to Brussels in a weak position, "asking for a favour from her European colleagues".

European Council President Donald Tusk has suggested an even longer delay of up to a year with conditions attached to ensure Britain does not stymie EU decision-making if it remains a member.

May will head to Brussels for a pre-summit meeting with Tusk before explaining her delay request to the leaders who will then discuss their next move.

If they don't grant an extension, Britain leaves the bloc on Friday with no deal regulating the departure.

A drastic cliff-edge exit would have huge costs to businesses and trade across the English Channel and be very cumbersome to travellers as it would likely hit airports, ports, tariff rules and standard regulations overnight.