Angela Merkel has given no extra assurances on Brexit to help Theresa May win a second vote her spokesman has insisted.
Reports suggested the German chancellor promised extra concessions once the current deal is rejected by Parliament.
Sources told the Sun these could include persuading the Irish Taoiseach Leo Varakkar to agree an end date to the hated Irish backstop.
But today a spokesman for the German chancellor rigorously denied any such promises had been made.
“The German Chancellor has given no assurances beyond those that were discussed by the European Council in December and what is set out in the letter from (European Commission President)Jean-Claude Juncker and (European Council President) Donald Tusk,” said the spokesman.
The categorical denial will be a further blow to Theresa May who looks set to be heading for one of the heaviest Parliamentary defeats in modern history.
The Environment Secretary refused to predict a win for Mrs May, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he did not know how the vote would go.
More than 100 of her MPs – around a third of those who sit on the green benches for the Conservatives are thought to oppose the Prime Minister’s Withdrawal Agreement ahead of Tuesday night’s meaningful vote.