Downing Street officials have denied that the British Prime Minister is taking a no-deal Brexit off the table.
Eurosceptic Tories are threatening to rebel in a key Brexit vote on Thursday over a motion tabled in Theresa May’s name which they claim would commit her to avoid leaving the European Union without a deal.
The motion asks the House to reiterate its support for the approach agreed on 29 January, when the Commons backed an amendment authorising Mrs May to go back to Brussels to renegotiate the controversial Irish backstop.
However members of the backbench European Research Group say that it effectively endorses another amendment ruling out no-deal, which was approved by MPs the same day but is not binding on the British government.
One ERG member told the BrexitCentral website: "We told the government very clearly last night that we will not support this motion and in fact we urged them, indeed pleaded with them at senior level, to withdraw it yesterday - but they took absolutely no notice. Frankly, we despair."
Pressed on the issue at a Westminster media briefing, Mrs May's official spokesman told reporters: "What the motion reflects is the position the Prime Minister set out after those votes, which is the Parliament wants the UK to leave with a deal, but in order to do so it requires us to secure legally-binding changes in relation to the backstop."
He added: "No-deal is an eventuality we wish to avoid, but one we continue to plan for. Does no-deal remain on the table? The answer is yes."
The spokesman declined to discuss reports that senior negotiator Olly Robbins was overheard in a Brussels bar saying that Mrs May planned to wait until the end of March before confronting MPs with a choice between her deal or a lengthy delay to Brexit.
However he rejected suggestions that the backstop arrangement - designed to keep the Irish border open in the absence of a wider trade deal - was being treated as a "bridge" to a future UK/EU relationship, insisting instead that it is "an insurance policy that is never intended to be used".
Earlier Mrs May said her government had not changed its position that it does not want to delay Britain's 29 March exit from the European Union.
Mr Robbins was overheard by a television correspondent in a bar saying that MPs will face a stark choice between Mrs May's deal or a long extension to the Article 50 negotiation period.
"It is very clear the government's position is the same, we triggered Article 50 ... that had a two year timeline, that ends on March 29, we want to leave with a deal and that is what we are working for," Mrs May said.
.@theresa_may insists 29 March exit will not be delayed | https://t.co/nMCxiGoWF0 pic.twitter.com/LJv56SR49F
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) February 13, 2019
ITV News reported that Mr Robbins was overheard telling colleagues the EU would probably give the government an extension to the Article 50 withdrawal process.
He was said to have indicated that if MPs did not vote for a deal, then the delay to the UK's final departure would be "a long one".
"The issue is whether Brussels is clear on the terms of extension. In the end they will probably just give us an extension," he was quoted as saying."Got to make them believe that the week beginning end of March ... Extension is possible but if they don't vote for the deal then the extension is a long one."
Asked whether the reported comments of Mr Robbins reflected government policy, Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay said: "No."
Mr Barclay told BBC Radio 4's Today: "The Prime Minister has been very clear that we are committed to leaving on March 29."
The Brexit Secretary, who met senior MEPs in Strasbourg on Tuesday, added: "What came over was actually that it is not in anyone's interests to have an extension without any clarity. It is actually very disruptive to the European Parliament.
"They have obviously elections for the parliament and a commission that will be formed at the end of May, so there is no desire on the European side to see what one described to me as an 'extension in darkness', where there is no clarity as to why we are extending."
The comments by Mr Robbins will reinforce suspicions among MPs that Mrs May is trying to "run down the clock" in an attempt to force them to back her agreement.
Tory Brexiteer Andrea Jenkyns tweeted: "If true, the PM should stop ignoring the wishes of the British people and disregarding her own red lines."
Mrs May is facing a fresh attempt by a cross-party group of MPs to prevent a no-deal Brexit if she cannot reach an agreement with Brussels by mid-March.
The group, including Labour MP Yvette Cooper and Tory former minister Oliver Letwin, have said they are ready to table an amendment enabling parliament to force ministers to seek a delay if there is no deal in place.
There was speculation at Westminster some ministers opposed to a no-deal Brexit break could be prepared to resign to support the amendment when it comes to a vote in two weeks' time.
Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage said Mr Robbins was part of the "civil service fifth column" and called for him to be sacked for his combination of "treachery and incompetence".
However Steve Baker, the deputy chairman of the ERG, said it was the view of the prime minister that counted.
"Officials advise. Ministers decide. If the PM decides we are leaving on March 29, deal or no deal, that will happen," he said.
A government spokesman said: "We would not comment on alleged remarks from a private conversation which is said to have been overheard in a hotel bar."
MEPs, meanwhile, are to vote today on laws to prevent disruption for airlines and hauliers in the case of a no-deal Brexit.
The Committee on Transport and Tourism proposed the legislation which they say will provide "basic connectivity" in terms of aviation and road connections should the UK crash out of the EU.
It will allow normal transport services to continue for a limited time period to prevent a sudden disruption to services.
