Boris Johnson news - live: Brexit bill ‘paused’ after MPs vote for it but kill off plan for Halloween exit

Follow all the latest developments as they happened

Boris Johnson says the withdrawal agreement bill will be pulled and he will call a general election if the government loses the programme motion

MPs have voted in favour of a Brexit withdrawal bill for the first time – but killed off Boris Johnson’s proposal to ram it through Parliament, thereby derailing his plan to leave by Halloween.

The Commons voted by 329 votes to 299 – a majority of 30 – to approve the prime minister’s Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) in principle, six months after killing off Theresa May’s equivalent version.

However, the PM then lost a vote on his proposed timetable, which stipulated the bill would have to clear all its Commons stages by the end of Thursday in order to fulful his "do or die" pledge to exit the EU at the end of the month, by a margin of 322 to 308.

Mr Johnson then announced the legislation would be "paused", meaning that the EU will now have to grant an extension to Brexit in order to avoid the UK crashing out with no deal in nine days' time.

Key Points

• PM will pull Brexit bill if government loses timetable vote
• MPs attack 'abomination' of three-day timetable
• Labour MPs will table amendment on Final Say public vote
• Cross-party group tables customs union amendment
• Tusk says EU should treat extension request 'in all seriousness'
• Corbyn offers PM 'reasonable timetable' for bill
• Tusk to recommend EU member states approve Brexit delay

[22 October 2019 09:56 · Adam Forrest]

Does Johnson have the numbers to get ‘programme motion’ through?

There’s a suggestion by the BBC’s political editor the government might not have enough support to stick to its ambitious timetable. That vote on the programme motion is expected early evening.

[22 October 2019 10:05 · Adam Forrest]

Guy Verhofstadt doesn’t want ‘another Windrush scandal’

Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s Brexit co-ordinator, has been tweeting about the need to ensure EU citizens’ rights in the UK before the consent to the Brexit deal.

“We don’t want our EU citizens to become victims in another ‘Windrush’ scandal.”

[22 October 2019 10:11 · Adam Forrest]

Lucas: MPs had more time to debate circuses

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas says that MPs had “more time to debate the Wild Animals in Circuses Act ... than they will to decide the future of 65 million people”.

Labour MP Yvette Cooper, chairwoman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, says the government should be “sensible” and agree to more time.

[22 October 2019 10:25 · Adam Forrest]

Juncker: Brexit has been ‘waste of time and energy’

The outgoing European Commission president Jean Claude-Juncker has addressed the European parliament, and has shared his regrets about Brexit.

“In truth it has pained me to spend so much of this mandate dealing with Brexit, when I have thought of nothing less than how this union could do better for its citizens,” he said. “A waste of time and a waste of energy.”

“The Commission has worked tirelessly to negotiate and renegotiate an agreement with the United Kingdom, to respect the UK’s decision to the leave the European Union – we now have a new agreement, which again creates legal certainty for an orderly withdrawal.”

Nigel Farage, the Brexit Party’s leader, has also been speaking in parliament. He claims the deal would reduce the UK “to the status of a colony of the European Union”.

But Farage and Juncker managed to find something to laugh about.

Nigel Farage and Jean-Claude Juncker (AP) 

[22 October 2019 10:35 · Adam Forrest]

Tusk says EU should treat extension request ‘in all seriousness’

Before finishing his speech in the European parliament, the European Council president Donald Tusk said “we should treat the British request for extension in all seriousness”.

He told the parliament earlier: “One thing must be clear, as I said to prime minister Johnson on Saturday – a no-deal Brexit will never be our decision.”

“I am consulting the leaders on how to react and will decide in the coming days. It is obvious that the result of these consultations will very much depend on what the British parliament decides or doesn’t decide. We should be ready for every scenario.”

[22 October 2019 10:43 · Adam Forrest]

Government should stop blaming Bercow

Our editorial today defends Speaker John Bercow’s decision to block the government’s attempt to re-stage a “meaningful”, yes-no vote on his Brexit deal – and get on with the job at hand.

Instead of bombarding the Commons with constant requests for an approval of the whole project, the government should begin attempting to persuade the Commons it has legislation worth voting for.

Crucially, MPs now have the chance to consider putting the deal to the people, via a Final Say referendum.

Read more here:

[22 October 2019 10:54 · Adam Forrest]

Cabinet meets for around 40 minutes

Ministers have just left Downing Street after cabinet met at No 10 for around 40 minutes.

Home secretary Priti Patel, Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay, health secretary Matthew Hancock and culture secretary Nicky Morgan all refused to answer questions as they left Downing St.

Business secretary Andrea Leadsom, education Secretary Gavin Williamson, international development secretary Alok Sharma and Kwasi Kwarteng also left moments later and did not respond to questions about the Withdrawal Agreement Bill.

Home secretary Priti Patel leaves Downing Street (Getty) 

[22 October 2019 10:58 · Adam Forrest]

Ed Vaizey threatens to vote against government timetable

Tory MP Ed Vaizey warns that the Commons’ leader’s rhetoric is poisoning the debate about the bill – and might even be enough to change his mind and vote the other way of the programme motion.

[22 October 2019 11:22 · Adam Forrest]

Nick Boles tables amendment requiring PM to extend transition period

The former Tory Nick Boles, now an Independent MP, tweeted that he had tabled an amendment “to require the government by default to seek an extension of the transition to Dec 2022 unless MPs pass a resolution to the contrary”. He makes clear it is aimed at stopping any chance of a no-deal exit at the end of next year.

[22 October 2019 11:41 · Adam Forrest]

Labour MPs will table amendment on Final Say public vote

Labour MP Phil Wilson has said he and fellow Labour backbencher Peter Kyle will be table an amendment today asking for a confirmatory referendum.

Wilson said he would back Boris Johnson’s withdrawal agreement if he gives the public a Final Say vote on the deal.

“What we’re saying is we’ll help facilitate the passage of this bill through parliament, we’ll vote for it, get it in the statute book, as long as it goes back to the people for a confirmatory ballot so they can compare Brexit, what it is today, with what they were promised three and a half years ago.”