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British lawmakers defeated Prime Minister Theresa May in a key Brexit vote on Wednesday, asserting their authority over the EU exit process by demanding a final say on the divorce deal.
Eleven members of May's Conservative party joined with opposition lawmakers to inflict the government's first defeat over the flagship EU (Withdrawal) Bill, sparking huge cheers in the House of Commons.
Ministers had sought to buy off its critics with a last-minute concession, but leading rebel Dominic Grieve, a former attorney general, had warned: "It's too late."
His amendment would require new legislation to implement any divorce deal with Brussels before Britain leaves the EU in March 2019.
It passed by 309 votes to 305, with a twelfth Conservative MP effectively abstaining by voting in both camps.
"Victory on Grieve amendment!" tweeted Keir Starmer, the Labour party's Brexit spokesman, heralding the "courageous Tories" who voted with the opposition.
The vital role played by Conservative rebels dominated British headlines, described as a humiliating "Tory rebellion" by the Guardian and "Mutiny in the Commons" by The Daily Telegraph.
The Daily Mail went further still, decrying "11 self-consumed malcontents" whom it accused of betraying their leader and Brexit voters alike.
The government said it was "disappointed" by the vote, adding: "We will now determine whether further changes are needed to the bill to ensure it fulfils its vital purpose."
** Hampering 'smooth' Brexit **
The defeat was a blow to May the day before EU leaders gather in Brussels to approve the terms of an interim Brexit deal struck last week after months of negotiation.
That deal was a rare moment of triumph for the prime minister, who has endured a turbulent few months since losing her parliamentary majority in disastrous snap elections in June.
MPs' success at defeating May in Westminster was described as "A good day for democracy" by Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's Brexit pointman.
"British Parliament takes back control. European and British Parliament together will decide on the final agreement. Interests of the citizens will prevail over narrow party politics," he wrote on Twitter.
The EU (Withdrawal) Bill is intended to formally end Britain's membership of the bloc as well as smooth its exit by transferring thousands of pieces of European legislation onto the UK statute books.
(AFP)
