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Brexit - live updates: Government defeat sparks Tory infighting as Theresa May heads to EU summit

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Tory rebels vote to give meaningful parliamentary vote on any final Brexit deal

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Key Points

Theresa May will urge European Union leaders to approve an agreement to move Brexit talks on to a second phase after an embarrassing parliamentary defeat. 

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.

The 27 other EU leaders are all but certain to approve the deal to move to "phase two" on Friday, after Ms May has left Brussels, launching a new stage of talks that could be hampered by divisions at home and differences with the EU.

Live Updates

MPs urge UK to accept EU laws during Brexit transition

An influential committee of MPs has thrown its support behind a Brexit transition agreement that sees EU laws continue to reign supreme, stressing that it would be a "price worth paying" for stability after March 2019. The Treasury Select Committee is urging the Government to put forward transition deal proposals that are straightforward and "simple" enough to "negotiate within a matter of weeks," before businesses start activating their Brexit contingency plans that include moving operations and staff.
The European Parliament's Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt called yesterday's vote a "good day for democracy". 

There’s lots of reaction around this morning from Tory rebels, who inflicted defeat on the Government last night. Most of them are mocking the Daily Mail’s frontage, which describes them as 11 “self-consumed malcontents” who have increased “the possibility of a Marxist in No.10”. 

Watch the moment Theresa May was defeated by her own MPs in humiliating Brexit vote

The 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.

All you need to know about the Brexit bill's Amendment 7 and why it has just humiliated Theresa May

The IndependentTheresa 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.

Theresa May is heading to a key EU summit after being embarrassed by her own MPs

Theresa May is set to arrive in Brussels for a key EU summit on Thursday having suffered a damaging defeat in Parliament over her central piece of Brexit legislation
Good morning. Welcome to The Independent's Brexit live blog. 
 
Follow along for the latest updates as Theresa May travels to Brussels to urge EU leaders to move Brexit talks on to a second phase following the Government's humiliating defeat in the House of Commons last night.

Brexit bonhomie as May finally seals agreement with EU leaders

Brexit bonhomie as May finally seals agreement with EU leaders

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    Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May is welcomed by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker

    Reuters

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    EU President Jean-Claude Juncker greeting Theresa May at the EU Commission in Brussels

    PA

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    Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May poses for a picture with European Council President Donald Tusk

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    EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker walks behind British Prime Minister Theresa May

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    British Prime Minister Theresa May (L) and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker address a press conference at the European Commission in Brussels

    AFP/Getty Images

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    British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at a press conference with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker

    EPA

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    Britain's Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, David Davis (L) and Michel Barnier (2-L), the European Chief Negotiator of the Task Force for the Preparation and Conduct of the Negotiations with the United Kingdom under Article 50 enter the room by the emergency exit to attend British Prime Minister Theresa May press briefing on Brexit Negotiations in Brussels.

    EPA

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    Britain's Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis (L), Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May (2-L), European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (2-R) and European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier (R) in a meeting on Friday morning

    AFP/Getty Images

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    European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier speaks during a media conference at EU headquarters

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    European Council President Donald Tusk addresses a media conference at the Europa building in Brussels

    AP

On Wednesday, Ms May suffered a humiliating defeat in the House of Commons as Parliament voted in favour of an amendment requiring a meaningful future parliamentary vote on any final Brexit deal. 

Up until the last minute of an often bitter debate, the Prime Minister's team tried to convince MPs in her party to block the measure, which the Government fears will weaken its hand in Brexit negotiations. But enough Conservatives rebelled to carry it narrowly by 309 votes to 305.

"This defeat is a humiliating loss of authority for the government on the eve of the European Council meeting," opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said in a statement.