Brexit today - as it happened: Theresa May says EU withdrawal is 'on course' but admits she is 'disappointed after parliamentary defeat
Tory rebels vote to give meaningful parliamentary vote on any final Brexit deal
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Theresa May has arrived in Brussels and is set to urge European leaders to officially approve an agreement to move Brexit talks onto the second phase.
But it comes after the Prime Minister faced an embarrassing defeat in the Commons on Wednesday on the Government’s Brexit legislation.
Asked about the defeat, inflicted after 11 of her own MPs defied her instructions to oppose the amendment, Ms May said the result was “disappointing” but insisted the legislation was still making good progress in the Commons.
“I'm disappointed with the amendment but actually the EU Withdrawal Bill is making good progress through the House of Commons and we're on course to deliver on Brexit,” she told reporters in Brussels.
At a dinner later this evening with the leaders of the EU 27, 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.
They are all but certain to approve the deal to move to “phase two” on Friday, after Ms May has Brussels, launching a new stage of talks that could be hampered by divisions at home and differences with the EU.
This liveblog is now closed, but you can see all of today’s developments in Westminster and Brussels below.
Brexit bonhomie as May finally seals agreement with EU leaders
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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.
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”.
The European Parliament's Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt called yesterday's vote a "good day for democracy".
The Archbishop of Canterbury has called for a Christmas "ceasefire" on the use of insults, "personalised attacks" and "pejorative terms" as the process of leaving the European Union continues.
The Archbishop told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme:
"If we go back 103 years, we find Christmas 1914 there was a ceasefire. It would be very good to have a ceasefire from insult and the use of pejorative terms about people at this time.
"As a country, we have a future ahead of us, we have made a decision about Brexit, that is clear, both sides are saying that.
"How we do that is a question for robust political argument, but there is a difference between disagreeing and personalised attacks - and those have to be avoided.
"If we are going to make a success of Brexit, and it's perfectly possible to do and in fact we should make a success of it - it gives opportunities as well as challenges - then we need a political leadership that is united in their attitude to the future, even if divided on policy.
"Therefore we do need reconciliation and unity."
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