May hints she might not bring Brexit deal back for third parliament vote next week

Reuters
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May is seen outside Downing Street in London, Britain March 22, 2019. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May hinted on Friday that she might not bring her European Union withdrawal deal back to parliament for a third time next week if there was not enough support for it to be passed.

May's Brexit deal has already been twice rejected by MPs but the prime minister was expected to try a third time next week.

An EU summit on Thursday granted an extension to Britain's departure from the bloc to try to give her time to get her deal through parliament, but in a letter to MPs on Friday, she suggested that such support might not be forthcoming.

"If it appears there is not sufficient support to bring the deal back next week, or the House rejects it again, we can ask for another extension before April 12 - but that will involve holding European Parliament elections," she wrote in a letter published on Twitter by a BBC reporter.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Janet Lawrence)