Theresa May has been dealt a heavy blow in her bid to secure new reassurances from fellow EU leaders over her Brexit deal, as the European Commission president declared there was "no room whatsoever for renegotiation".
The President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker won applause from MEPs as he said: "There is no room whatsoever for renegotiation, but of course there is room if used intelligently, there is room enough to give further clarifications and further interpretations without opening the Withdrawal Agreement.
"This will not happen: everyone has to note that the Withdrawal Agreement will not be reopened."
READ MORE: Brexit live: Westminster fury as Theresa May cancels vote
He confirmed he would meet Mrs May on Tuesday evening but reiterated: "The deal we have achieved is the best deal possible - it is the only deal possible."
The statement came as the Prime Minister embarked on emergency Brexit talks with her Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte in The Hague.
He offered a glimmer of hope to Mrs May by saying there was room to give "further clarifications and further interpretations without opening the Withdrawal Agreement".
The Prime Minister will also meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday in her bid to gain reassurances on the exit deal from European leaders ahead of a crunch EU summit on Thursday, after leaving Westminster in turmoil.
She will then travel on to Brussels, where she is due to meet European Council president Donald Tusk at around 4pm and Mr Juncker at 6.15pm, UK time.
Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom suggested Mrs May was seeking changes that would give Parliament an additional "democratic ability to decide".
"That might include an addendum to the Withdrawal Agreement that sets out that Parliament will vote prior to going into a backstop, should that prove necessary, and potentially that the EU parliament and UK parliament must vote every year thereafter to provide that legitimacy for the UK to stay in the backstop, should that prove necessary," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"So there are plenty of options for the PM to talk to the EU about that don't involve reopening the Withdrawal Agreement, but that would provide the legal text as a part of the Withdrawal Agreement, through perhaps an addendum."
Mrs May, who is facing repeated calls from leading Tory Brexiteers to be replaced as PM, was forced to abandon the Commons vote as the scale of opposition to the Brexit deal, especially regarding proposed backstop arrangements for the Irish border, threatened a crushing rejection of her plans.
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