Theresa May has written to the EU asking for a further extension to Article 50 - delaying Brexit until June 30.
The UK is due to leave the European Union at the end of next week on April 12, but the Prime Minister is now seeking to delay Brexit for the second time.
The letter was addressed to European Council president Donald Tusk, who is reportedly preparing to offer Mrs May a 'flextension' to prevent the UK leaving on April 12 without a deal.
The 'flextension', as Mr Tusk calls it, would see the EU provide the UK with another year to think Brexit through.
Mr Tusk will be putting the option of an extension to the EU leaders at a crunch summit on Wednesday next week, and one requirement of the flextension would be that the UK takes part in the European Parliament elections in May.
In the letter, Mrs May said: "I am writing therefore to inform the European Council that the United Kingdom is seeking a further extension to the period provided under Article 50(3) of the Treaty on European Union, including as applied by Article 106a of the Euratom Treaty.
"The United Kingdom proposes that this period should end on 30 June 2019. If the parties are able to ratify before this date, the Government proposes that the period should be terminated early.
"The Government will want to agree a timetable for ratification that allows the United Kingdom to withdraw from the European Union before 23 May 2019 and therefore cancel the European Parliament elections, but will continue to make responsible preparations to hold the elections should this not prove possible."
Mrs May will also be seeking to sort out her Withdrawal Agreement before the European Parliament elections in May, and her talks with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will continue today to find a way through the deadlock.
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