Brexit: What is happening at the EU summit and will Theresa May be granted an Article 50 delay?

When will the EU leaders meet, and what are they expected to offer?

Theresa May is currently heading to Brussels for an emergency summit of EU leaders as she requests a further delay to Brexit amid the impasse at Westminster.

It comes after her deal was rejected for a third time almost a fortnight ago by MPs in the House of Commons, leaving the prime minister with few options but to seek a second extension to the Article 50 negotiating period.

What is the prime minister asking for?

In her letter to the European Council president Donald Tusk last week, Ms May made clear she will be asking for the EU 27 to grant her an extension until 30 June 2019 - giving Britain an extra few months to attempt to break the Commons deadlock.

Will the EU agree?

Almost certainly not. European leaders are sceptical about whether a short delay will give enough time for Downing Street to get a withdrawal agreement passed by a divided parliament. They also want to avoid a situation in which the UK is requesting further delays every few weeks.

Given the prime minister's previous request last month to extend Article 50 until the end of June was rejected by EU leaders, the prime minister and her team are anticipating it to be dismissed a second time.

When will the EU leaders meet?

They are expected to gather in Brussels around 5pm - an unusually late summit. Unlike other gatherings of EU leaders there is just one thing on the agenda: whether to grant the UK a Brexit extension, and if so, for how long.

It is expected Ms May will be given to make her case to the 27 leaders, before they discuss their response without the prime minister present. Mr Tusk and the European Commission president Jean Claude-Juncker are expected to give a late evening press conference on Wednesday when a resolution has been reached.

What will the EU offer?

In recent days, it has been suggested that plans drawn up by Mr Tusk will include a year-long "flexible" delay to Brexit, effectively allowing the UK to remain a member state until 31 March 2020.

Brussels is framing the proposal as a “flextension” – to stress that the UK could leave before the final date if MPs agreed to implement the negotiated Brexit deal before then.

The German chancellor Angela Merkel also echoed this view this proposal on Wednesday, giving her backing to a "longer" delay than Ms May has requested, but one that should be flexible enough to allow the UK's departure from the EU "very quickly".

What will the PM accept it?

Despite the 2016 referendum campaign pledging to "take back control" from Brussels, Britain is not quite in control this evening. Whether to grant an extension, and how long an extension will be, are decisions that will be taken with Ms May outside the room.

She could ask the EU 27 to reconsider their conclusions, or simply walk away from the talks - something no-one in Westminster expects the prime minister to do. Ultimately though it appears Ms May will have no other viable choice but to accept the resolution of the EU leaders this evening.

What if she does walk away?

Unless an extension is reached between the government and the EU, legally, Britain is on course to crash out of the EU on Friday. If this scenario does play out, which seems unlikely, expect a majority of MPs to move rapidly in the coming days to do everything in their power to prevent a no-deal exit from the bloc.