Boris Johnson news – live: Major blow for prime minister as Commons vote paves way for bill preventing no-deal Brexit
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Rebel Tories have defied Boris Johnson's threats of deselection to align with opposition MPs and derail his Brexit plans in a historic Commons vote.
MPs voted to seize control of the house agenda, paving the way for a bill to be tabled tomorrow that would prevent the prime minister from crashing the country out of the EU on October 31.
The prime minister's statement to the House earlier this evening was upstaged when Tory MP Dr Phillip Lee dramatically crossed the floor to sit with the Liberal Democrats, depriving him of his majority.
Mr Johnson said he would put in train a motion calling for a general election next month.
Labour have said they may vote in favour of such a poll, but only if they could be certain Mr Johnson would not move the date until after Britain is due to leave on October 31, in effect bringing about a no-deal by default.
"It doesn't make sense to negotiate in public," Mr Johnson says to one questioner.
The government has serious proposals to replace the backstop, he says.
"We can excise the offending bits" of Theresa May's withdrawal agreement, the PM insists.
This is the latest on Phillip Lee's defection, from one of our eagle-eyed political correspondents:
Sir Graham Brady is returning as chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs.
Here, one of our top columnists James Moore explains why retailers reacted with fury to Michael Gove’s denial of no-deal food shortages:
"We will abide by the law," says Boris Johnson in response to being asked whether he would obey legislation that ordered him to seek an extension to Article 50.
But he said proposing such a bill would be "deleterious" to the UK's interests.
Phillip Lee says he does not expect to be the last Conservative MP to leave the party over Brexit.
This infographic, prepared by the statistics agency Statista, shows the new composition of the Commons following Phillip Lee's defection to the Lib Dems
"Where is the evidence .. that he's done anything at all?" asks Stella Creasy in respect of Boris Johnson's Brexit negotiations.
"It's the question we're all asking," she says.
It might not feel like it at the moment, but things other than Brexit are going on.
Here we report on how efforts to provide homes for refugee children have stalled.
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