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As it happenedended

Brexit news - live: MPs pass emergency law forcing prime minister to avert no deal by one vote

Follow our live coverage of the day’s political events

Lizzy Buchan
Political Correspondent
,Adam Forrest
Wednesday 03 April 2019 23:35 BST
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Brexit: MPs pass emergency law forcing Theresa May to seek further delay to avert no deal by one vote

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A cross-party bid to block a no-deal Brexit has cleared the Commons after Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn met for last-ditch talks to break the deadlock.

In a series of late-night votes, MPs backed the bill, tabled by Labour's Yvette Cooper, which was rushed through in a single day to prevent the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal next Friday.

It comes after Ms May was hit by two ministerial resignations over her decision to hold talks with Mr Corbyn, which also sparked fury among Tory MPs.

Mr Corbyn said the meeting in the prime minister's Commons office was "useful but inconclusive", adding: "There has not been as much change as I expected".

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Labour MP Afzal Khan says mosques have been targeted in Birmingham and Newcastle after the Christchurch attacks.

He asks her when the Tories will conduct an inquiry and adopt a universal definition of Islamophobia.

May says there is a process to look at complaints, which the Tories take very seriously.

She condemns attacks against mosques and any place of worship. She says people must be able to go to their place of worship and feel safe.

Lizzy Buchan3 April 2019 12:26

David Jones, the ex-Brexit minister, asks her if she still believes Jeremy Corbyn is unfit to govern?

May gets herself into a tangle. She says yes, then fudges, then she says a Labour government would be the wrong choice.

She then points to the Salisbury attacks - when Jeremy Corbyn was criticised for not being strong enough in his response to Russia.

Lizzy Buchan3 April 2019 12:28

Pro-EU Tory Philip Lee says polling shows 58% of the public want a Final Say vote. 

May says she knows he is a passionate campaigner on this issue. MPs have rejected this - and need to deliver on the first referendum.

Lizzy Buchan3 April 2019 12:29

Lizzy Buchan3 April 2019 12:30

Tory MP Lee Rowley says May told MPs last week that Corbyn is the biggest threat to the UK's security and standing in the world. Is that still true?

May says everyone is involved in Brexit. She wants to deliver on it and she wants to sort it out before the European elections.

MPs have rejected every proposal in front of them, she says. The public want MPs to work across party lines and deliver on the vote.

Lizzy Buchan3 April 2019 12:31

Stewart Hosie, SNP MP, asks if she was leader of the opposition and invited into 'a trap like this, would she have been foolish enough to accept?'

May repeats her answer from before - the public want MPs to get on with it.

Lizzy Buchan3 April 2019 12:32

Journalists in the press gallery point out that former Tory MP Nick Boles is now sitting with the Liberal Democrats.

He dramatically resigned from the Conservative whip on Monday night on the floor of the Commons, out of fury at MPs refusals to compromise on Brexit.

Lizzy Buchan3 April 2019 12:35

Tory MP Julian Lewis twists the knife. He asks why she is approaching Labour MPs to agree a deal when Labour blocked a no-deal Brexit, which Tory MPs apparently want.

May says she always said no deal was better than a bad deal - but she has a good deal.

Parliament must agree a withdrawal agreement - and that's why she is sitting down with other parties.

Lizzy Buchan3 April 2019 12:37

Tory MP Caroline Johnson says people voted for Brexit. She voted for the PM's deal and she understands the need to balance the risk.

But what happens if she has to balance the risk between a no-deal Brexit and ushering in a government led by Jeremy Corbyn - who Johnson alleges is a Marxist and an antisemite.

May brushes past this, saying she wants to secure a deal.

Lizzy Buchan3 April 2019 12:40

DUP's Jim Shannon asks which of the Labour Brexit policies May will accept.

May says both parties want to leave the EU and protect workers rights.

Lizzy Buchan3 April 2019 12:41

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