MPs reject Theresa May's Brexit deal for a second time

Theresa May's EU withdrawal deal has been rejected by MPs by an overwhelming majority for a second time, with just 17 days to go to Brexit.

MPs voted down the prime minister's deal by 149 - a smaller margin than when they rejected it in January.

Mrs May said MPs will now get a vote on whether the UK should leave the EU without a deal and, if that fails, on whether Brexit should be delayed.

She said Tory MPs will get a free vote on a no-deal Brexit.

The PM had made a last minute plea to MPs to back her deal after she had secured legal assurances on the Irish backstop from the EU.

But although she managed to convince about 40 Tory MPs to change their mind, it was not nearly enough to overturn the historic 230 vote defeat she suffered in January, throwing her Brexit strategy into fresh disarray.

Setting out the next steps, she said MPs will vote on Wednesday on whether the UK should leave the EU without a deal or not.

If they vote against a no-deal Brexit, they will vote the following day on whether Article 50 - the legal mechanism taking the UK out of the EU on 29 March - should be extended.

Mrs May said MPs would have to decide whether they want to delay Brexit, hold another referendum, or whether they "want to leave with a deal but not this deal".

She said that the choices facing the UK were "unenviable", but because of the rejection of her deal, "they are choices that must be faced".

Mrs May also told MPs the government would announce details of how the UK will manage its border with Ireland in the event of a no-deal Brexit on Wednesday.

Mrs May said leaving without a deal remained the UK's default position but Downing Street said she will tell MPs whether she will vote for no-deal when she opens Wednesday's Commons debate on it.

The prime minister did not discuss resigning after her latest defeat because a government led by her had recently won a confidence vote in the Commons, added the PM's spokesman.

The PM's deal was defeated by 391 to 242.

Some 75 Conservative MPs voted against it, compared with 118 who voted against it in January.

The Democratic Unionist Party's 10 MPs also voted against the deal, as did the Labour Party, SNP and other opposition parties.

Three Labour MPs - Kevin Barron, Caroline Flint and John Mann - voted for the prime minister's deal.

Source: bbc