No-deal Brexit 'near impossible to stop': Spain

A no-deal Brexit appears inevitable after British Prime Minister Theresa May announced her resignation, paving the way for hardliners to take over, an increasingly assertive Spain warned on Friday.

"Under these circumstances, a hard Brexit appears to be a reality that is near impossible to stop," Spanish government spokeswoman Isabel Celaa told reporters.

She added "the British government, the British parliament" would be "solely responsible for a no-deal exit (from the EU) and its consequences." In an emotional announcement, May said she would step down as Conservative Party leader on June 7 and remain as prime minister in a caretaker role until a replacement is elected by the party.

That will end her dramatic three-year tenure of near-constant crisis over Britain's planned exit from the European Union. With her resignation, the manner of Britain's withdrawal from the European Union appears more uncertain than ever.

It could lead to Britain, which has already twice delayed its departure from the European Union, opting to leave the bloc without any kind of deal on October 31, the extended deadline agreed with Brussels last month.

Predicting "difficult times" ahead, Celaa said Britain's anticipated "disorderly exit" was "a clear example of what can happen if we let ourselves get swept along by extremes.

"We have to face this situation, strengthening the union, a European Union made strong by deals and consensus and not a union defined by extremes, selfishness and nationalism.