UK still negotiating with EU over Brexit backstop - May's spokeswoman

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is still negotiating with the European Union over a workable backstop arrangement if any Brexit deal is delayed, Prime Minister Theresa May's spokeswoman said on Thursday.

Britain is suggesting it would be willing to extend the use of EU tariffs as a backstop if there are delays in ratification of a Brexit deal, to avoid a return to a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

"The negotiations are continuing on what a workable backstop looks like - those negotiations haven't concluded," the spokeswoman said. "The backstop is a fallback and we do not want or expect it to happen."

(Reporting by William James, editing by Elizabeth Piper)