Summary

  • MPs vote for government motion to seek delay to Brexit by 413 to 202

  • It comes after MPs reject the UK leaving the EU without a deal by 321 to 278 votes on Wednesday

  • Theresa May is to make a third attempt to get her deal through Parliament in the next week

  • Speaker John Bercow blocks amendment on rejecting a second referendum - prompting anger from Brexiteers

  • Labour abstains on an amendment calling for another referendum

  1. Cabinet source 'pessimistic' over legal advicepublished at 09:40 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2019

    BBC political editor tweets:

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
  2. 'No significant difference' to Brexit dealpublished at 09:40 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2019

    BBC News Channel

    Dominic Grieve

    Tory MP and former attorney general Dominic Grieve says Theresa May has not achieved legally binding changes to the withdrawal agreement.

    "Broadly speaking, the instrument that she's come back with simply repeats the content of the original withdrawal agreement," he says.

    "It certainly doesn't give us a unilateral ability to terminate the backstop," he adds.

    He says the UK's ability to prove "bad faith" on the part of the EU has been "slightly reinforced", but proving this in international law is "very unusual".

    "There is no significant difference in the text of the deal as a result of this instrument the prime minister's come back with."

  3. Watch: Varadkar on 'positive' Brexit dealpublished at 09:30 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2019

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
  4. Attorney general denies pressure to validate May's dealpublished at 09:29 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2019

    Attorney General Geoffrey Cox gives a strongly-worded response to Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow's tweet (which we posted at 8:27) suggesting he is being pressured into validating Mrs May's deal.

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
  5. DUP: No final decision yetpublished at 09:25 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2019

    Jeffrey Donaldson, of the DUP which props up the government, says the party has not yet come to a final decision and needed to hear from the attorney general first.

    He tells Reuters that what Geoffrey Cox says will be very important but the DUP is seeking legal counsel and would make its own decision.

    Fellow party member Sammy Wilson adds that if the government wants to have full scrutiny of the agreement, one option would be to delay the vote.

  6. DUP 'have set criteria' for vote decisionpublished at 09:22 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2019

    BBC Radio Ulster

    The DUP’s Brexit spokesperson Sammy Wilson says if the new documents don’t meet his party’s criteria, they will not vote for it tonight.

    Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster, Mr Wilson said he did not feel a “weight of responsibility” to vote for the deal unless there were legally binding changes to it.

    He said the party wanted to see what Attorney General Geoffrey Cox made of the new texts.

    “We’ve set certain criteria and all of that will go into the mix before we make our judgement,” he said.

  7. Listen: Davis says deal is 'significantly better'published at 09:12 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2019

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
  8. ERG: 'Instinct says no real changes made'published at 09:10 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2019

    Financial Times correspondent Sebastian Payne has been asking the pro-Brexit Tory European Research Group (ERG) whether the new documents will sway their vote.

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
  9. Tory Eurosceptic calls for the vote to be delayedpublished at 09:09 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2019

    Today Programme
    BBC Radio 4

    Jacob Rees-MoggImage source, EPA

    Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg says a team of lawyers will examine the documents this morning on behalf of the Eurosceptic European Research Group (ERG).

    He says he will wait for the explanation from the lawyers, but at the moment he is "not sure" that the agreements from last night are a "major change".

    The main point will be whether the unilateral declaration allowing the UK to pull out out of the backstop is "genuinely unilateral", he adds.

    He says he is "very interested" in the view of the DUP, adding that "many Conservatives" would be "heavily influenced" by the party's view.

    He calls for today's vote to be postponed until tomorrow to allow MPs an opportunity for "more mature consideration".

    The process has been "desperately rushed", he adds, with an apparent attempt to "bounce" a decision on MPs.

  10. Watch: Labour says changes 'aren't significant'published at 08:54 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2019

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
  11. Gove: EU 'has made a concession'published at 08:47 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2019

    Today Programme
    BBC Radio 4

    Michael Gove is asked to react to a statement from Irish PM Leo Varadkar that last night's documents are "complementary" to the agreed Brexit deal.

    Pressed on whether the withdrawal agreement is unchanged, he says: “In its terms, it remains unchanged.

    "But we now have an addition to the withdrawal agreement of equal legal weight," he says, adding that "everyone agrees the EU made a concession".

    "Chapter one of a book might remain unchanged, chapter two might show how the characters develop and alter," he says.

    He says that Attorney General Geoffrey Cox's updated legal advice will be published for MPs to examine - but whether he appears in the Commons is a “matter for the Speaker”.

  12. Irish PM: Deal should 'eliminate fears'published at 08:44 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2019

    Theresa May and Leo VaradkarImage source, PA
    Image caption,

    Theresa May and Leo Varadkar, pictured in February

    In a statement to the media, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said the deal agreed on Monday night was "complementary" to the withdrawal treaty, which could not be rewritten.

    He said it provided "additional clarity, reassurance and guarantees sought by some to eliminate doubt or fears, however unreal, that the goal was to trap the UK indefinitely in the backstop".

    "It is not. These doubts and fears can be put to bed," he added, as he called on MPs in the UK to back the deal.

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
  13. Davis: Deal may be 'just about acceptable'published at 08:37 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2019

    David DavisImage source, Reuters

    David Davis, the former Brexit secretary and prominent Brexiteer, is telling Talk Radio he is considering voting for Theresa May's deal.

    The station's political editor Ross Kempsell reports Mr Davis is saying: "We are in a position where they appear to meet us in the middle."

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post 2

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post 2
  14. 'Make your mind up time' - Govepublished at 08:28 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2019

    Today Programme
    BBC Radio 4

    Continuing, Michael Gove repeats that the EU has made a “legally binding commitment” that the backstop will not be permanent.

    He says that MPs will have to “balance a series of risks" when they decide whether to back the “enhanced and augmented” deal in Parliament later.

    If the Commons rejects the deal again, he warns, there is a risk that Brexit will be “delayed and diluted”, or that the UK will leave without an agreement.

    He also warns that the EU could attach conditions to any extension of Brexit talks.

    Now is “make your mind up time” for all MPs, he adds.

  15. Questions over validity of 'new EU deal'published at 08:27 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2019

    Channel 4 News presenter tweets:

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
  16. Labour MPs to vote against 'cliff-edge' dealpublished at 08:26 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2019

    Some Labour MPs have been declaring on Twitter they will be voting against Theresa May's deal when it comes to the Commons later today.

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post 2

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post 2
    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post 3

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post 3
    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post 4

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post 4
  17. Sturgeon: 'A bad, blindfold deal'published at 08:21 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2019

    Scotland's First Minister tweets:

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
  18. Gove: New text has 'equal weight' to exit treatypublished at 08:21 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2019

    Today Programme
    BBC Radio 4

    Michael GoveImage source, EPA

    Environment Secretary Michael Gove says that today's vote will "absolutely" go ahead.

    He says the "legally binding" declaration issued last night makes clear that the Irish border backstop plan is only meant to be a temporary arrangement.

    The joint declaration, he adds, has "equal weight" to the withdrawal agreement already agreed.

    It gives the UK "additional legal weight" to ensure it could leave the backstop if the EU decided to make it a permanent arrangement.

  19. Tone and clarity of attorney general's advice 'will matter'published at 08:17 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2019

    BBC political editor tweets:

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post 2

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post 2
    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post 3

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post 3
    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post 4

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post 4
  20. Downing Street whips meet over doughnutspublished at 08:06 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2019

    Government whip tweets:

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post