The leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, criticised Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday for rescheduling a delayed vote in parliament on her Brexit deal until mid-January.
"The House (of Commons) must get on with the vote and move on to consider the realistic alternatives," Corbyn said in parliament. "There can be no logical reason for this delay, except that, in taking shambolic government to a new level, the prime minister no longer has the backing of her cabinet."
Earlier, May said she intended to hold the vote in the week starting on Jan. 14. Last week she postponed the vote in the face of deep opposition within her own Conservative Party.
Britain's main opposition Labour Party said on Monday Prime Minister Theresa May had only offered a date for a new vote on her Brexit deal because it had threatened to call for a motion of no confidence in her.
"The prime minister has been forced to bring her botched deal back to Parliament under threat of a motion of no confidence in her," a spokesman said.
"We will not let her cynically run down the clock to create the false choice between her botched deal and no deal. It is disgraceful that a month has been wasted. We were due to vote on 11 December and there can be no further attempts to dodge accountability to parliament."
European banks should prepare themselves and their customers for the risk of an abrupt departure by Britain from the European Union, one of the bloc's top regulators warned on Monday.
Flagging its concerns for financial stability as well as the readiness of "smaller ... institutions", the European Banking Authority urged lenders to have "effective contingency planning" and tell customers how Brexit would affect them.
The announcement comes as parliamentary deadlock in Britain has thrust the future of Brexit into doubt, with possible outcomes ranging from a disorderly departure with no deal to another referendum on European Union membership.
"The EBA is ... calling on all financial institutions affected .... to engage with their customers and provide adequate information on the risks and mitigating measures being taken," the regulator said.
Both London and Brussels have stepped up planning for a no-deal exit.
A senior British minister, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters last week that the risk of a "managed" no-deal Brexit was rising, as Prime Minister Theresa May is unlikely to win enough concessions from the EU to satisfy eurosceptic rebels in her Conservative Party.
The minister added that there was no consensus for any alternative to May's deal, which seeks to keep close trading ties with the bloc after leaving.
In its statement, the EBA said customers worried about the impact of Brexit could contact banks themselves if they had heard nothing from them by the end of the year.
May has repeatedly warned that if her agreement is rejected then the world's fifth largest economy might have to leave without a deal - a nightmare option for many big businesses - or that Brexit might be thwarted altogether.
No deal means there would be no transition period so the exit would be abrupt, but the EU and Britain could try to make agreements in certain areas, for example on aviation, to reduce the chaos.
Britain is a member of the World Trade Organization so tariffs and other terms governing its trade with the EU would be set under WTO rules.
Business leaders are triggering contingency plans to cope with additional checks on the post-Brexit UK-EU border that they fear will clog up ports, silt up the arteries of trade and dislocate supply chains in Europe and beyond.
The pound edged off 20-month lows on Monday as British Prime Minister Theresa May rescheduled a delayed vote in parliament on her Brexit plan for mid-January.
Sterling, trading at $1.26, inched higher as May confirmed the vote - postponed last week in the face of deep opposition - would happen in the week starting on Jan. 14.
With May facing deadlock in parliament over her deal to leave the European Union and the bloc offering few concessions so far, calls for a second Brexit referendum are growing louder.
Nonetheless, sterling has staying within a narrow trading range.
It was up 0.2 percent against the dollar at $1.2609 on Monday, not far off a 20-month low of $1.2477 touched last Wednesday, a day after the planned vote in parliament was postponed.
Against the euro, the pound fell 0.2 percent to 90.02 pence .
It is not clear what impact, if any, a second vote would have on sterling. Some analysts suggest the currency could jump because it could reduce the risk of a no-deal Brexit, which could complicate trade and business, but others say it would only deepen the economic and political uncertainty.
Traders appear to be shying away from taking big bets on the British currency with so much doubt about the chances of securing a deal with the EU less than four months before Britain is due to leave the bloc, on March 29.
"The short-term risk premium is still not particularly high suggesting more downside risks for the currency as the March deadline approaches," said Chris Turner, head of foreign exchange strategy at ING.
The pound has fallen for five consecutive weeks against the dollar.
Traders say the 20-month low of below $1.25 hit on Wednesday would act as a temporary support for the battered currency unless there were further clarity on the outcome.
Despite the tough task that May faces in winning concessions from the EU over the Brexit deal agreed on Nov. 25, most investors think the British parliament will eventually back a "softer Brexit" rather than a complete separation from the EU.
