The Prime Minister received the support of EU leaders yesterday after the Government suffered an embarrassing defeat on its landmark Brexit Bill this week.

Mrs May admitted she was “disappointed” by the vote, in which 11 Tory MPs sided with Labour and other opposition parties to narrowly defeat the Government and allow Parliament a “meaningful vote” on the final divorce deal.

But European officials have now warned they will not tear up months of negotiations and go back to the drawing board if the House of Commons ultimately votes against the deal.

And they signalled such a move will only hinder the UK’s chance for a clean break from Brussels.

Xavier Bettel, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, said: “If each time we reach an agreement on something there is a risk of unravelling in London, that’s not the way to may concrete progress.”

And a senior French official told the Financial Times the EU would not allow Britain to renegotiate - even if MPs vote against the final deal.

He said: “Mrs May is our main negotiating partner.

“It’s obvious that we will not renegotiate new amendments after striking the deal.”

Wednesday’s drama in the Commons saw the Government lose a crucial vote on an amendment to its EU Withdrawal Bill by 309 votes to 305.

The outcome undermined the Prime Minister’s authority just hours before she travelled to Brussels for a summit in which the EU Council agreed “sufficient progress” had been made on key divorce issues.

And the Council agreed today the process can now move on to the second phase of talks which will include discussing the UK/EU future trade relationship.

But in a show of support for Mrs May, leaders from member states across the EU27 insisted she was the person the bloc wanted to deal with.

Her Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar said: “I understand that Prime Minister May has a tough job, she leads a minority government.

“I have absolute faith and confidence in her that she speaks for the Government of the UK.”

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said: “I still think she has a formidable stature here. 

“We should not underestimate Theresa May. She is a formidable politician.”

The members of Mrs May’s party who opted for the “meaningful vote” amendment include ardent Remainer Anna Soubry, who argued giving Parliament a final say on the deal would give “soft Brexiteers” in the Government more say in shaping the Brexit process.

This could include keeping the UK as close as possible to the single market, she said.