Chance of Brexit being cancelled is 20-30%, says Tusk

There is a 20% to 30% chance Brexit could be cancelled, according to the president of the European council, Donald Tusk.

In an interview with Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, Tusk said the people of the UK are more likely to reject Brexit in a second referendum as the country has only debated the true consequences of Brexit since the 2016 referendum took place.

"The referendum was at the worst possible moment, it is the result of a wrong political calculation," Tusk said .

"A real debate about the consequences of Brexit wasn’t had during the referendum campaign, but only after the vote. Today the result would probably look different. Paradoxically, Brexit awoke in Great Britain a pro-European movement.

"After the British referendum in 2016, I thought that if we recognise that the case is closed, it will be the end. Today the chance that Brexit will not happen is, in my opinion, 20-30%. That’s a lot.

"From month to month, it is becoming increasingly clear that the UK’s exit from the EU will look completely different than the Brexit that was promoted. I see no reason to capitulate."

The UK was set to leave the bloc on 29 March 2019 but the deadline was extended to 31 October after Prime Minister Theresa May failed to get her Brexit deal through Parliament.

While Tusk may believe that Brexit can be reversed, a Reuters poll of economists has suggested that Britain will eventually leave the European Union and agree a free trade deal with the bloc. Half of the economists surveyed believed there would not be another extension.