Malta’s Prime Minister ‘feels sorry’ for Theresa May

Malta’s prime minister has admitted he ‘feels sorry’ for Theresa May as she lurches from one Brexit crisis to the next.

Joseph Muscat was speaking after holding talks with his UK counterpart at the European Council meeting in Brussels.

He revealed he has ‘a lot of admiration’ for Mrs May’s determination to battle on to try to save her proposed Brexit deal.

Dr Muscat, who is regarded a close ally of the British PM, said: ‘I can think of very few people who, in such circumstances, can be as resilient as her’.

‘I cannot see an alternative in the Conservative party other than May’s plan.’

He told the Times of Malta: ‘I see no sort of alternative for her. ‘Those trying to undermine her have not really offered an alternative.

‘This is the only possible Brexit for those in the UK who want it.’

European Union leaders have said the Brexit withdrawal agreement is ‘not open for renegotiation’, despite appeals from Mrs May.

She asked for legal assurances on the Irish ‘backstop’ to help her deal get through Parliament, after she delayed a Commons vote in anticipation of defeat.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said ‘there could be clarifications but no renegotiation’.

Former prime minister Tony Blair said he believed a majority of MPs at Westminster would back another referendum on Brexit, if Parliament could not agree on another way forward.

He said: ‘We have had 30 months of negotiation and let’s be clear we are now in crisis mode on this.’