Prime Minister Theresa May gave no indication of whether she favoured extending Britain's post-Brexit transition period when the head of the European Parliament raised the matter at a summit on Wednesday, President Antonio Tajani said.

Asked by reporters to clarify remarks at a news conference at which Tajani had, through an interpreter, appeared to give contradictory indications of May's response to his suggestion of extending the transition to three years from two, the head of the EU legislature said: "She was neutral.

"It's a possibility," he said. "She said there was this hypothesis and she will evaluate it. She underlined the importance of the issue but she didn't say anything in terms of content.

"She said we will keep under consideration the issue of the transition period but she did not say anything in favour or against the three-year period."

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