Boris Johnson is taking “personal charge” of desperate efforts to prevent a new Brexit no-deal nightmare.
Ministers fear Britain is locked in a “death grip” with Brussels which threatens the end-of-year deadline for an exit agreement.
No-deal fears are growing amid a row over fishing rights and delays to talks caused by coronavirus.
And the PM has upped the stakes by letting it be known he is prepared to walk away if he does not get a breakthrough in virtual meetings with other leaders in the next few weeks.
The stand-off is seen by Tory MPs as a major reason why he fought so hard to keep his lockdown-busting Brexit guru Dominic Cummings.
The Government has until the end of June to say whether or not it wants to extend the December 31 deadline.
MPs are piling pressure on the PM to say yes because they fear there is too little time left to hammer out a deal. But Mr Johnson thinks an extension would create costly uncertainties for firms and leave us liable to huge EU costs.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has told MPs Brussels is “open” to a one or two-year delay to the UK’s departure from the EU.
The offer was met with derision in No 10 and Britain’s top negotiator Sir David Frost said last week we would reject any EU request for an extension.
Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove told the Commons last week: “Whether we are inflexible, or they are resolute, or they are stubborn, and we are principled – whichever way you cut it – there is a stand-off there.”
