Government defeated in key Brexit vote - here's how the day unfolded
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Your support makes all the difference.The Government has been defeated by Conservative rebels and Labour MPs in a critical vote on its key piece of Brexit legislation.
MPs amended the EU Withdrawal Bill against Theresa May's will, so guaranteeing Parliament a "meaningful" vote on any Brexit deal she agrees with Brussels.
Ms May's whips applied heavy pressure on Conservative rebels who remained defiant in the Commons throughout the day and in the end the Government was defeated by 309 votes to 305, a margin of just four votes.
Here is how the day unfolded.
This is the latest on the vote later this evening on the Brexit bill, from Press Association:
David Davis has written to MPs in a last-ditch attempt to avert a Tory revolt and potential Commons defeat for the Government's Brexit legislation.
Prime Minister Theresa May has been warned she faces a rebellion unless MPs are guaranteed a meaningful vote on the terms of the UK's withdrawal from the European Union.
Rebel ringleader and former attorney general Dominic Grieve believes he has enough support to defeat the Government on Wednesday evening unless ministers give in.
Labour is set to back Mr Grieve and urged would-be rebels not to be bought off by “warm words and woolly concessions”.
Mr Davis promised MPs there would be “a number of votes” on the final deal struck between the UK and EU.
The Prime Minister's lack of a majority leaves her vulnerable to any Commons revolt and with up to 20 Tory MPs set to side with Mr Grieve in the division lobbies she could face a damaging blow to her authority.
“I think there are quite a few who may support me - I think enough, if this comes to a vote, to defeat the Government,” Mr Grieve told the BBC.
Brexiteers reacted angrily to the threatened revolt, accusing the rebels of trying to “derail” the whole bill, which is needed to transpose EU legislation on to the UK statute book when Britain leaves in March 2019.
Labour's Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer has said his party will be backing tonight's rebel amendment on a "meaningful" vote for MPs on the final terms of the Brexit deal.
On BBC Radio 5 Live just now, a member of Warwick University's Conservative Association, just let slip David Davis is being sacked as their honorary chairman.
Here's what they said:
With David Davis it’s actually a funny story - he’s our honorary chairman at the University of Warwick Conservative Association, and we’ve found him actually quite unworkable. He’s never been to any of our events. With invited him constantly and we’re actually sacking him now because he’s so unworkable.
He is quite busy but he just doesn’t reply. I shouldn’t have announced that on radio because we haven’t actually sacked him yet. But, yes, we’ve found him not to be the most workable person. Even though he is busy he could at least reply to us.
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