Theresa May has decided to call off the Commons vote on her Brexit deal, a source has confirmed.

The vote was set to be held on Tuesday evening, but the British Prime Minister appeared to be heading for a certain and heavy defeat which could severely damage her position.

Responding to the announcement, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the only deal on the table is the one including the Irish backstop.

Despite speaking to Mrs May by phone last night, he claimed this afternoon to not be aware of her vote being cancelled.

But Mr Varadkar said: “The Withdrawal Agreement, including the Irish backstop, is the only deal on the table.

“It took over a year and a half to negotiate. It has the support of 28 EU governments, and it’s not possible to reopen that aspect of the agreement without reopening all aspects.”

He said the purpose of the phone call was for the Prime Minister “to update me on the progress she is making in trying to secure ratification of the withdrawal agreement”.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon slammed the postponement of the Commons vote as “an act of pathetic cowardice” which is “collapsing into utter chaos”.

Earlier today, the European Court of Justice ruled that Britain can cancel Brexit without getting the permission of other European Union countries, in a decision that could embolden Remain-supporting MPs to vote down Mrs May’s Brexit deal tomorrow.

A spokeswoman for the court said: “The revocation must be decided following a democratic process in accordance with national constitutional requirements. This unequivocal and unconditional decision must be communicated in writing to the European Council.”

ECJ advocate general Manuel Campos Sanchez-Bordona said last week that Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty allows the “unilateral revocation of the notification of the intention to withdraw from the EU, until such time as the Withdrawal Agreement is formally concluded”.

Theresa May held 11th-hour crisis talks with EU leaders yesterday as she agonised over whether to postpone tomorrow’s “doomed” vote on her Brexit deal.

With time running out, the UK prime minister phoned the European Council president to explain that MPs would kill off the deal – and possibly her premiership – unless Brussels could throw her a lifeline.

Last night Mrs May also called Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to discuss the vote and Thursday’s summit in Brussels. Mr Varadkar’s support is crucial if Mrs May is to win any concessions on the backstop – the biggest obstacle to getting her deal through parliament.

Last night, even her closest allies were still unsure whether she would postpone tomorrow’s vote in the hope of winning fresh concessions from EU leaders at a summit in Brussels on Thursday, or press ahead and use her expected defeat to prove to the EU that the deal is dead.

• Read more: Explainer: What happens next if Theresa May loses crucial Brexit vote?

Mrs May has told aides the solution to her dilemma lies with Brussels, having all but accepted that the vote is unwinnable. But one senior minister said Mrs May did not have a clear plan.

However, Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay insisted yesterday the vote would “100 pc” go ahead tomorrow, but senior government sources said nothing was set in stone.

Chief whip Julian Smith is understood to be among those now urging Mrs May to put the vote back until at least next week, if not the new year, to buy time on the deadlock.

It came as Labour and the DUP held talks about toppling Mrs May with a no-confidence vote on her leadership, rather than on the government, in the hope they would entice Tory rebels to join them.

Current and former cabinet ministers have advanced their preparations to launch leadership bids if Mrs May is forced out this week, with Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab and Esther McVey all fuelling speculation about their ambitions to become prime minister in interviews yesterday.

Meanwhile, increasing numbers of cabinet ministers are convinced the UK is heading for a second referendum, with one idea being discussed by them being a public vote between Mrs May’s deal and a no-deal Brexit, with no option of remaining in the EU on the ballot paper.

David Lidington, the prime minister’s de facto deputy, and David Gauke, the Justice Secretary, are understood to have sounded out Labour MPs to gauge if there is a parliamentary majority for a so-called People’s Vote.

Mrs May’s phone call with Mr Tusk was revealed in a tweet by the EC president, who said: “It will be an important week for the fate of Brexit.” No 10 insisted the call was a “routine” catch-up before Mrs May attended the two-day European Council summit later this week.

However, diplomatic sources suggested Mrs May had used the call to press home to Mr Tusk the fact she could lose her grip on Brexit if she goes ahead with the vote and loses heavily.

One Whitehall source said: “Everyone is just bewildered at the idea that she could possibly go ahead with a vote that she might lose by 200 on current estimates.

“Despite the official line being that the vote will definitely happen, there are still discussions going on in Downing Street about whether it should be postponed, and for how long.

“The chief whip is nervous … He kept telling the PM we could win the vote when it was obvious to everyone we had no chance.”

Justice Minister Rory Stewart said it was “overwhelmingly likely” the vote would happen, although he acknowledged that “nothing is beyond any doubt at the moment”.

One senior minister said: “The vote is doomed if it goes ahead tomorrow, but if she puts it back to next week she risks being humiliated by the EU when she goes to Brussels on Thursday if they offer her nothing.

“She might be better off putting the vote back to January, but the problem with that is she doesn’t have any bright ideas for how to use that time to her advantage.”

With additional reporting from the Press Association

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