Why has the PM asked for another extension?

Having reached a new Brexit deal with the EU last week, the prime minster had
intended to bring it to Parliament and ask MPs to approve it.

However, in the first Saturday sitting in the Commons for 37 years, MPs instead
voted in favour of an amendment withholding approval of the deal until all the
necessary legislation to implement it had been passed.
 Brexitcast: Super(ish) Saturday...

Tabled by Tory MP Sir Oliver Letwin, the amendment was intended to ensure that
Mr Johnson would comply with the terms of the so-called Benn Act designed to
eliminate any possibility of a no-deal exit on 31 October.

Under that act, Mr Johnson had until 23:00 BST on Saturday to send a letter
requesting a delay to the UK's departure - something he did, albeit without his
signature.

Sir Keir also said his party would support an amendment requiring the deal to be
put to another referendum.

He said he believed that would most likely be tabled by a backbencher, but

insisted: "It's got to go back to the public."

Organising another public vote would take a minimum of 22 weeks, according to

experts at the Constitution Unit at University College London (UCL), and Sir Keir
accepted that sort of timescale was reasonable.

A government also cannot just decide to hold a referendum. Instead, a majority of

MPs and Lords would need to agree and vote through the rules, and there would
likely be deep divisions over the wording of the question, the number of options on
the ballot paper and the voting system.

What about the EU?

EU Council President Donald Tusk has acknowledged receipt of the UK's
extension request and said he would consult EU leaders "on how to react".

Ambassadors from the 27 EU nations met for about 15 minutes in Brussels on

Sunday morning and continued the legal process of ratifying the Brexit deal on the
EU side.
 EU papers' anguish at UK Brexit drama
 Adler: Reluctant EU considers delay request
The EU's Chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, told diplomats the passage of the Letwin
amendment did not mean that the deal had been rejected.