1ST LEAD EU official: Brexit negotiations must be completed by October 2018 By Bill Smith, dpa

London (dpa) - Negotiations on Britain‘s exit from the European Union must be completed by October 2018, the EU‘s top Brexit negotiator said on Tuesday, adding to the pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger formal talks soon."Time will be short. The period for actual negotiations will be shorter than two years," Michel Barnier, the EU‘s chief Brexit negotiator, told reporters in Brussels.British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the timeframe suggested by Barnier was "absolutely ample.""We can get a great deal for the UK and for the rest of Europe within that timeframe," Johnson told reporters in Brussels. "I see no reason why not at all."May has promised to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which sets the rules for a two-year negotiating process for a nation leaving the EU, by the end of March."Article 50 is very clear. It sets out that as soon as we receive the notification - the earlier the better - we have two years in order to reach an agreement together," Barnier said."All in all there will be less than 18 months to negotiate," he said, adding that a draft deal should be agreed by October 2018 to allow time for the British parliament, the European Council and the European Parliament to vote on the Brexit deal.Meanwhile at Britain‘s Supreme Court, lawyers for May‘s government were presenting evidence in its appeal against a High Court ruling that she must seek parliamentary approval before triggering Article 50.The Supreme Court is scheduled to close the hearing on Thursday and is expected to give its ruling next month.Adding to the pressure, May faces a potential revolt by lawmakers from her own Conservative Party on Wednesday when parliament votes on an opposition Labour Party motion urging her to publish her Brexit plans before she triggers Article 50.Conservative lawmaker Anna Soubry said she supported the motion and believed at least 20 Conservative colleagues would vote for it."I can‘t see on what grounds I wouldn‘t vote for it," Soubry told The Guardian. "I would expect at least 20 of my colleagues to vote for it.""People are very concerned. We are getting a running commentary; we need clarity," Soubry told the newspaper.She was referring to comments given by ministers despite May‘s insistence that she will not provide a "running commentary" on her Brexit plans.Veteran Conservative lawmaker Ken Clarke told The Indpendent he planned to vote with Labour.The motion said parliament must oversee Brexit as "the defining issue facing the UK" but accepts "there should be no disclosure of material that could be reasonably judged to damage the UK in any negotiations."In an apparent bid to stave off a rebellion, May tabled an amendment late Tuesday to add that parliament "will respect the wishes" of voters in the Brexit referendum in June, according to a copy of the document posted on Twitter by Conservative lawmaker Steve Baker.The Conservative Party has a working majority of 15 in parliament, with 329 lawmakers.