Brexit vote result - LIVE: Cabinet ministers rebel as Theresa May's bid to keep no-deal Brexit on the table ends in yet another humiliating defeat
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Your support makes all the difference.Theresa May has suffered a humiliating defeat after MPs voted to completely take the option of a no-deal Brexit off the table.
MPs voted by 312 votes to 308 in favour of an amendment that was stronger than the government's own motion in its opposition to a no-deal outcome.
Ms May's motion said the Commons "declines to approve" leaving without a deal on March 29, but said the only way to avoid this is to pass an agreement. The amendment passed by MPs removed this caveat and simply said the Commons "rejects" a no-deal Brexit.
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Earlier, chancellor Philip Hammond used his Spring Statement to downgrade growth forecasts and warn MPs that uncertainty over Brexit was damaging the economy.
It came after ministers revealed plans to scrap tariffs in the event of the UK crashing out of the European Union without a deal as MPs prepare to vote on a no-deal Brexit.
Under a temporary and unilateral regime, EU goods arriving from the Republic of Ireland and remaining in Northern Ireland will not be subject to tariffs – a prospect likely to increase the risk UK jobs would be lost. Charges will however be payable on goods moving from the EU into the rest of the UK via Northern Ireland under a schedule of rates also released today.
Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's Brexit co-ordinator, called for the UK to put "queen and country" before party politics, appealing for certainty from the House of Commons.
He told MEPs in Strasbourg: "That is what we need and so I am against every extension, whether an extension of one day, one week, even 24 hours, if it's not based on a clear opinion of the House of Commons for something. That we know what they want."
He added: "Please make up your minds in London, because this uncertainty cannot continue. Not for us, not for Britain and certainly not for our citizens."
Ireland's Europe Minister Helen McEntee reiterated that Ireland was not planning for a hard border on the island.
She said people in Northern Ireland did not want the Withdrawal Agreement to be cast aside and ministers in the Republic were still not planning to allow the introduction of a physical border on the island.
"It is not something that we as a Government have been planning for, it is not something that we are thinking about and it is not something that we would allow."
She said the UK and Ireland collectively had obligations as co-guarantors of the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement to protect the peace process.
National Farmers' Union president Minette Batters said it was "appalling" the import tariffs which will be applied in the event of no-deal had only been published a fortnight before they could be coming into effect.
She welcomed the Government's move to treat many agricultural sectors "sensitively" but raised concerns over sectors which would not have such protection, such as eggs, cereals, fruit and vegetables.
"Even those sectors that are treated sensitively will, in most instances, see worrying and large reductions in the tariff rates currently charged on non-EU imports.
We recognise the importance of ensuring food prices for consumers do not rise in a no-deal Brexit but we are deeply concerned that the approach to tariffs published today will mean a greater reliance on food produced overseas."
Michel Barnier has questioned whether the UK should be given an extension. The Independent's Europe Correspondent, Jon Stone, has written a news report on what the EU's chief negotiator had to say:
The European Parliament's Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt is currently venting his frustration on Twitter ahead of a crucial vote this evening on a no-deal scenario and tomorrow's Article 50 extension motion.
The European Council President, Donald Tusk, has just posted a letter from a six-year-old British girl on his Instagram feed.
In the letter, Sophie writes: "I live in Britain. I know we are leaving the EU. But I think we should be friends.
"Please may I have a signed photo of you for my Europe Book."
He responds: "We will always be friends, Sophie"
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford tweeted an image of an amendment tabled by the party, which adds the option to revoke Article 50.
"Delighted to say SNP will be seeking to take no deal off the table in all circumstances and for the house to recognise we have the option to revoke article 50. We have a duty to protect Scottish jobs first and foremost."
Prime Minister's Questions has now started. Theresa May kicks things off - and she is still evidently struggling with her voice.
She says she'll try to keep her answers shorter today.
Jeremy Corbyn opens his first question saying the PM is not showing leadership by giving an MPs a free vote on no-deal, as he asks her how she will vote. She says she will be voting for the motion in her name - a short reply.
Corbyn says the reason the PMs deal is dead is because "every step of the way she has refused to listen" about the best way to protect job. When will she listen to concerned workers and business and accept the case there has to be a negotiated customs union, he asks.
May replies hitting out at his stance on a referendum - and says despite shifting party policy, the Labour leader failed to mention it in his speech.
She says the deal he is proposing has been rejected "several times" by the House of Commons.
"I may not have my voice, but I do understand the voice of the country," she added.
The Labour says this is a "rudderless government" in the face of a national government.
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