Brexit today - as it happened: Theresa May says EU withdrawal is 'on course' but admits she is 'disappointed after parliamentary defeat

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Theresa May has arrived in Brussels and is set to urge European leaders to officially approve an agreement to move Brexit talks onto the second phase.

But it comes after the Prime Minister faced an embarrassing defeat in the Commons on Wednesday on the Government’s Brexit legislation.

Asked about the defeat, inflicted after 11 of her own MPs defied her instructions to oppose the amendment, Ms May said the result was “disappointing” but insisted the legislation was still making good progress in the Commons.

“I'm disappointed with the amendment but actually the EU Withdrawal Bill is making good progress through the House of Commons and we're on course to deliver on Brexit,” she told reporters in Brussels.

At a dinner later this evening with the leaders of the EU 27, the Prime Minister will repeat her case for moving the talks on to trade negotiations, which she sees as crucial to offering certainty for businesses.

They are all but certain to approve the deal to move to “phase two” on Friday, after Ms May has Brussels, launching a new stage of talks that could be hampered by divisions at home and differences with the EU.

This liveblog is now closed, but you can see all of today’s developments in Westminster and Brussels below.

Watch the moment Theresa May was defeated by her own MPs in humiliating Brexit voteThe IndependentThis is the moment that the government lost its key vote on its Brexit bill after a rebellion by 11 Conservative MPs. In front of a packed House of Commons in the end the Government was defeated by 309 votes to 305, a margin of just four votes. Cheers erupted as the result was announced.

Ashley Cowburn14 December 2017 12:53

Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Simon Coveney, said a transition period needs to be closer to five years than two.

Speaking in the Dail on Thursday, he insisted that businesses need time to adapt to any new realities in the context of Brexit.

He also said that, in his view, the commitments that the UK Government has made to Ireland and the rest of the EU are “cast-iron”.

Ashley Cowburn14 December 2017 12:54

High Court just ruled Government policy of deporting homeless EU citizens is illegalThe IndependentThe High Court has ordered the Government to stop deporting homeless EU citizens under a controversial policy that has been ruled unlawful. Mrs Justice Lang said measures introduced last year were discriminatory and violated European law, following a challenge by two Polish men and a Latvian. The three men were all facing removal because they were found by police and immigration officers sleeping rough.

Ashley Cowburn14 December 2017 13:10

All you need to know about the Brexit bill's Amendment 7 and why it has just humiliated Theresa MayTheresa May’s government was handed a defeat on the Brexit bill as 11 MPs rebelled and backed an amendment to give Parliament a much greater say in leaving the European Union (EU).  Amendment seven, tabled by the former attorney general Dominic Grieve, requires any Brexit deal to be approved by a separate Act of Parliament before it can be implemented.

Ashley Cowburn14 December 2017 13:25

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Tory former minister who rebelled against May warns she faces second defeatConservative ex-cabinet minister Dominic Grieve has said he does not care about “knives being out for me” over his role in forcing changes to Theresa May’s Brexit plans, as he warned the Prime Minister she faces a second defeat.

Ashley Cowburn14 December 2017 13:35

UK must accept EU laws to prevent 'dramatic and damaging' impact on economy after Brexit, MPs warnA transition period after Brexit where the UK continues to accept EU rules would be a “price worth paying” for economic stability, an influential Commons committee has said. Cross-party MPs on the Treasury Committee said the Government should consent to a “standstill” transition deal with Brussels, which would likely include remaining in the single market and customs union, and accepting judgements from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) after Britain leaves the bloc in March 2019.

Ashley Cowburn14 December 2017 13:45

Brexit should be cancelled, Austrian prime minister saysAustria’s prime minister has said he hopes that Brexit can be reversed, hours after British MPs voted to give themselves a veto on Theresa May’s final deal. Arriving at European Council summit in Brussels Christian Kern said Brexit would likely throw up problems that are “not easy to solve”.

Ashley Cowburn14 December 2017 14:19

No Brexit renegotiation if MPs reject deal Theresa May gets, EU leader warnsA European Union leader has warned that the UK will be unable to renegotiate a new Brexit deal if Parliament votes to reject the one struck by Theresa May next year. The suggestion that the UK could crash out without a deal if MPs refused to back what Ms May returns with comes after the Government lost a key vote in the House of Commons that saw Tory rebels team up with Labour to ensure MPs get a vote.

Ashley Cowburn14 December 2017 14:27

This major business leader says Theresa May 'confuses the hell' out of the EUTheresa May, together with her Government, “confuses the hell” out of the European Union and needs to “get unified” if it wants to succeed in Brexit negotiations, according to the head of the UK’s main business association. The damning appraisal by Paul Drechsler, president of the Confederation of British Industry, came even before the stinging parliamentary defeat for the prime minister just as she’s about to face her EU counterparts in Brussels.

Ashley Cowburn14 December 2017 14:39

Theresa May has arrived in Brussels. Speaking to reporters outside the European Commission building, she said she was "disappointed" with the amendment.

She says the EU Withdrawal Bill is making good progress in the House of Commons and says the Government has won 35 out of 36 voted on the legislation so far - interesting spin.

Ashley Cowburn14 December 2017 14:42

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