UK

Britain moves closer to leaving EU following Westminster vote

Protestors outside the Houses of Parliament call for MPs to vote to approve a House of Lords amendment to the British government's article 50 legislation Picture by Dominic Lipinski/PA
Protestors outside the Houses of Parliament call for MPs to vote to approve a House of Lords amendment to the British government's article 50 legislation Picture by Dominic Lipinski/PA Protestors outside the Houses of Parliament call for MPs to vote to approve a House of Lords amendment to the British government's article 50 legislation Picture by Dominic Lipinski/PA

Britain moved a step closer to withdrawal from the European Union lasy night after MPs overturned House of Lords amendments to a bill authorising Theresa May to commence Brexit negotiations.

But the British prime minister looks set to wait another fortnight before kicking off the two-year process of negotiating departure under Article 50 of the EU treaties, with formal notification expected to take place in the last week of this month.

Mrs May's official spokesman played down suggestions that the PM had delayed notification due to Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon's announcement that she plans to stage a second independence referendum in the run-up to the expected date of Brexit in spring 2019.

Mrs May is scheduled to make a statement on Europe to the Commons today.

Notification in the last week of this month would not only avoid clashing with the general election taking place tomorrow in the Netherlands, but would also delay the formal opening of negotiations until after a special summit in Rome on March 25 when the remaining 27 member states will celebrate the EU's 60th anniversary.

Mrs May's European counterparts had been prepared for her to make an announcement this week, with April 6 pencilled in as the date for a meeting of the 27 other EU leaders to respond to the situation - a gathering which will now be pushed back until later that month.

MPs rejected a Lords amendment to guarantee the status of EU nationals resident in the UK by a margin of 335 votes to 287, and also overturned a second amendment, which would have required the government to grant parliament a "meaningful" vote on the withdrawal deal eventually secured by Mrs May, by 331 votes to 286.