Brexit: EU Council president Donald Tusk says 'maybe we can avoid the UK leaving - it's my quiet dream'

European Council president Donald Tusk has said it is his “quiet dream” for the UK to stay in the EU after the bloc’s leaders offered to delay Brexit until Halloween. In a dramatic night in Brussels, European leaders rebuffed Theresa May’s calls for a short extension to 30 June, instead offering the prime minister a longer extension to 31 October to find a way through the Brexit deadlock. Mr Tusk appeared to confirm Brexiteer fears that Britain's departure from the EU was being kicked into the long grass, telling Polish media that Brexit could be avoided. 'Maybe we can avoid the UK leaving the EU - this is obviously not my role, but it's my personal, quiet dream,' he told the Polish Press Agency.