Brexit news: Theresa May secures ‘legally binding’ changes to EU deal after last-ditch Strasbourg visit
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Your support makes all the difference.Theresa May has secured “legally-binding’’ changes to her Brexit deal after an eleventh-hour dash to Strasbourg on the eve of a dramatic Commons vote.
In a late-night press conference with European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, Ms May urged MPs to back her “improved” deal in the meaningful vote tomorrow after pledging she had secured reassurances that the UK would not be trapped in the Irish backstop.
Cabinet Office minister David Lidington set out details of some of the changes agreed with Brussels in a Commons statement as he tried to buy the prime minister time to finish her talks before the Commons rose for the night.
It comes ahead of a parliamentary showdown on Ms May’s Brexit deal on Tuesday, which returns to the Commons after it was overwhelmingly rejected by MPs in January.
As speculation mounts over a fresh humiliation for Ms May, all eyes will be on the Brexiteers and her DUP allies to see if the changes the prime minister has secured will be enough to get the deal over the line.
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No10 is playing down suggestions that Theresa May will definitely travel to Strasbourg tonight, saying there are currently no confirmed plans and that Simon Coveney was getting ahead of himself. That's not to say the prime minister won't go, of course - just that it is isn't yet certain.
Jeremy Corbyn has demanded that Theresa May come to the Commons to answer his Urgent Question on Brexit negotiations...
Just to recap, we still have no idea what will happen later today.
Someone from the government will need to respond to Labour's Urgent Question about what on earth is happening in relation to Brexit. The Opposition is demanding that Theresa May come to the Commons herself, but it is still unclear whether or not she plans to do so.
That decision appears to partly depend on whether or not the prime minister travels to Strasbourg this afternoon to try to seal some sort of last-ditch compromise offer with EU leaders. The Irish government announced that trip was going ahead, but No10 says it might not be.
Clear? Meanwhile there are 18 days until Brexit...
Labour MPs are being urged to ignore Theresa May's 'half-hearted' Brexit pledge on workers' rights
The Urgent Question on Brexit is set to begin in less than 10 minutes. According to Labour, the government still hasn't confirmed who will be responding to it...
Theresa May is NOT in the Commons for the Urgent Question on Brexit, which is about to begin. Instead she has been tracked down by the BBC, giving a Bible reading in Westminster Abbey to mark Commonwealth Day...
Jeremy Corbyn is now asking his Urgent Question in the Commons. He makes a point of saying the question is to the prime minister, who is not present.
Instead, Brexit minister Robin Walker is responding for the government.
He says the prime minister has spoken to Jean-Claude Juncker today and that negotiations are at a "critical stage". The government will make a further statement later today and the attorney general will update his legal advice before MPs vote tomorrow, he says.
Mr Walker says he "cannot preempt the outcome of these urgent and sensitive discussions".
Jeremy Corbyn says the government is "in chaos".
He says that "time and time again this prime minister has failed to negotiate, failed to compromise and delayed and delayed and delayed".
The government is running down the clock until 29 March in a bid to force its deal through Parliament, he says.
Brexit minister Robin Walker confirms there will be a "meaningful vote" tomorrow.
He repeats that negotiations are ongoing and that the government is still seeking legally-binding changes to the backstop.
He re-iterates that the attorney general, Geoffrey Cox, will publish his updated legal advice on the Brexit deal before the vote tomorrow.
Pressed by Tory grandee Ken Clarke, he also confirms - significantly - that the plan is still for votes on no-deal and extending Article 50 to take place on Wednesday and Thursday if Ms May's deal is rejected tomorrow.
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