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As it happenedended

Brexit vote result - LIVE : Theresa May offers Tory MPs free vote on no deal after her revised plan suffers second crushing defeat

Follow The Independent's coverage live from Westminster

Ashley Cowburn
Political Correspondent
Tuesday 12 March 2019 18:27 EDT
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Theresa May's Brexit deal defeated in the House of Commons

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MPs have inflicted a devastating defeat on Theresa May's Brexit deal after last-minute assurances from the EU failed to convince Brexiteers and the DUP.

On a day of high drama in Westminster, parliament voted against the prime minister's blueprint by 149 votes.

Ahead of the Commons showdown, a hoarse Ms May desperately appealed to MPs to back her blueprint after she secured “legally binding” changes during an eleventh-hour trip to Strasbourg on Monday night.

But attorney general Geoffrey Cox dealt a significant blow to her efforts, issuing legal advice that said the UK could still be trapped in the Irish backstop, which is so despised by Tory Brexiteers.

The prime minister must now let MPs decide whether to rule out a no-deal Brexit and has been forced to allow her ministers to vote.

It means over the next 48 hours cross-party groups of MPs will probably table plans for delaying Brexit for different periods; for leaving on different terms; and for giving the British public a Final Say referendum.

Please allow a moment for the liveblog to load

Ashley Cowburn12 March 2019 20:24

SNP leader and Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has reacted to the vote.

"The Prime Minister and the UK Government should be hanging their heads in shame this evening. Tonight's outcome was entirely predictable and if they had been prepared to listen at any stage and engage constructively instead of simply pandering to Brexit extremists, they could have avoided it.

"Instead, we now have a government that has effectively ceased to function and a country that remains poised on a cliff edge.

"Now that the Prime Minister's deal has been resoundingly defeated for a second time, what is abundantly clear is that the UK Government and Parliament have been unable to turn the result of the 2016 referendum into a workable or deliverable plan to leave the European Union.

"The votes now scheduled for the coming days will now give Parliament the chance to definitively reject the catastrophe of no-deal and to allow for more time for a sensible way forward to be found - but the Prime Minister should definitively rule out no-deal, instead of offering a free vote on the issue.

"Ruling out 'no-deal' and extending Article 50 would stop the clock on Brexit and enable another referendum on EU membership to be held. We will support any such referendum, provided it has the option to remain in the EU on the ballot paper.

"Scotland's needs and voice have been ignored by the UK Government throughout the Brexit process, and today a handful of DUP MPs held more sway over Scotland's future than our own national Parliament - that demonstrates more clearly than ever that the case for Scotland becoming an independent country has never been stronger."

Ashley Cowburn12 March 2019 20:41

Ireland's foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney told the BBC: "The predictions were consistent enough over the last few days that this would be a heavy defeat.

"We now need to be patient and calm to allow this process in Westminster to take its course."

Ashley Cowburn12 March 2019 20:52

Tory former Brexit minister Steve Baker said he had tabled a "Malthouse Compromise" amendment to Wednesday's motion with Tory colleagues which would seek extension of Article 50 until May 22.

Ashley Cowburn12 March 2019 21:02
Ashley Cowburn12 March 2019 21:26
Ashley Cowburn12 March 2019 21:41
Ashley Cowburn12 March 2019 21:54

MPs cheered when Theresa May asked if Parliament wanted a second referendum, after the prime minister was defeated on her Brexit deal.

Chiara.Giordano12 March 2019 22:05

Theresa May has finally lost control of Brexit after her deal was once again defeated in parliament by a huge margin on a catastrophic night for her plans.

She must now let MPs decide whether to rule out a no-deal Brexit and has been forced to allow her ministers to vote as they wish to stop a devastating public split in her cabinet.

Chiara.Giordano12 March 2019 22:16

Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve has echoed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's earlier comments that Theresa May's Brexit deal is "dead".

The Tory MP, who voted against the prime minister's plan, said her deal was now "finished".

He told the BBC: "We are going to have to make use of this extension period sensibly to get us out of this terrible mess, because we are in the midst of a major political crisis."

Chiara.Giordano12 March 2019 22:29

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