There will be "a crisis in British politics" if MPs vote down Theresa May's Brexit deal, the European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator has warned.
Guy Verhofstadt went on to predict such a defeat could lead Britain to elect a new government with a different position on Brexit.
Asked what would happen if British politicians voted against whatever deal the Prime Minister negotiates with the European Union, Mr Verhofstadt said the UK would leave the EU "without any arrangement."
"There will be, I presume, a crisis in British politics," he said. "I presume maybe an election, maybe after that election a new government and maybe a new position of that government on Brexit.
"That's unknown territory."
During the interview, Mr Verhofstadt said he wanted Britain to stay in the single market and customs union.
"We want more than a free trade deal," he said.
Britain was plunged into political chaos after the Conservatives lost their majority in the House of Commons in last year's general election.
Since then, Ms May has had to settle internal differences within her Conservative Party, which is split between those advocating a clean break from the EU, like her foreign minister Boris Johnson, and those who want as little disruption as possible to minimise the hit to Britain's economy, such as finance minister Philip Hammond.
Mr Verhofstadt's remarks come as the Prime Minister spoke to Western leaders and officials in Munich to set out the Government's vision for Britain outside the EU.
The loudest applause during her appearance came when the event's organiser, German diplomat Wolfgang Ischinger, said: "Things would be so much easier if you stayed."
But the Prime Minister was adamant: "We are leaving the EU and there is no question of a second referendum or going back, and I think that's important," she told the Munich Security Conference.
"People in the UK feel very strongly that if we take a decision, then governments should turn not round and say no you got that wrong."
Ms May is hoping to negotiate a transition deal next month which would leave Britain's relationship with the EU virtually unchanged for around two years.
Additional reporting by agencies
