Theresa May has said there needs to be a further extension of Article 50 in order to delay the Brexit process.

The Prime Minister said the UK needs an extension to the Brexit process which is "as short as possible" in order to leave the EU with a deal.

Speaking in 10 Downing Street following a seven-hour Cabinet, she said she is offering to sit down with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to try to agree an EU withdrawal plan.

May said she wants to achieve this before the April 10 European Council summit, but if that is not possible then a number of alternative options could be put to the vote.

She insisted that any resolution should still take the UK out of the EU by May 22, as agreed at the last European Council summit.

The PM said: "This is a decisive moment in the story of these islands and it will require national unity to deliver the national interest."

The European Council summit last month agreed an April 12 exit deadline for if the UK fails to pass a Brexit deal, or May 22 if it does agree one.

May said: "I have always been clear that we could make a success of no-deal in the long term but leaving with a deal is the best solution.

"So we will need a further extension of Article 50 - one that is as short as possible and which ends when we pass a deal.

"And we need to be clear what such an extension is for: to ensure we leave in a timely and orderly way.

"This debate, this division, cannot drag on much longer."

The Prime Minister said she would try to strike a compromise deal with Corbyn but warned it would have to include her current deal.

She said: "Today I'm taking action to break the logjam.

"I'm offering to sit down with the leader of the opposition and try to agree a plan that we would both stick to to ensure we leave the EU and we do so with a deal.

"Any plan would have to agree the current withdrawal agreement - it has already been negotiated with the 27 other members and the EU has repeatedly said it cannot and will not be re-opened."

May continued that if a "single, unified approach" could not be agreed, they would move to "a number of options for the future relationship we could put to the House in a series of votes".

She said: "Crucially, the government stands ready to abide by the decision of the House but to make this process work the opposition would need to agree to this too."

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon accused the Prime Minister of "kicking the can" and "delaying making any decision that could break her Cabinet".

Agreeing to the meeting, Corbyn said: "I recognise my responsibility to represent the people that supported Labour in the last election and the people who didn't support Labour but nevertheless want certainty and security for their own future."

He said he would not set any "limits" ahead of the meeting with the Prime Minister and warned that Labour would "hold in reserve" the option of tabling a confidence motion in the Government if it "proves it is incapable of commanding a majority in the House of Commons".

May's "red lines" include making sure the UK is out of the customs union and she has also ruled out a second referendum, but a Number 10 source said "unless there is compromise on both sides, it is unlikely we can find a way forward".

If the European Council proposes an extension beyond May 22, it is understood that it would be possible for the UK to take the steps necessary to prepare for European Parliament elections on May 23, but then cancel them at the last minute if the withdrawal deal was ratified.