Brexit vote: Four cabinet ministers break ranks to help rebel Tories block Boris Johnson's no-deal

By a margin of 41, MPs passed legislation which will stop the new prime minister from locking them out of the Commons in the run-up to Brexit day on 31 October

Four cabinet ministers sensationally broke ranks to help almost 50 rebel Tories block Boris Johnson from suspending parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit.

The four – chancellor Philip Hammond, business secretary Greg Clark, justice secretary David Gauke and international development secretary Rory Stewart – defied a three-line whip to abstain in a key Commons vote.

The measure effectively strips the likely new prime minister of the power to lock MPs out of parliament to stop them voting down his plans, making a no-deal departure on 31 October far more difficult to deliver.

Mr Hammond, who had never previously rebelled in 22 years as an MP, said that parliament “must be allowed to sit and have a say during a key period in our country’s history”.

The chancellor had cut short a meeting with G7 finance ministers in France and returned to London in order to abstain. And he was even spotted putting his head outside the door of 11 Downing Street as MPs voted, as if to make absolutely clear that his absence from the voting lobbies was not due to engagements elsewhere.

The ministers escaped punishment, though a “disappointed” Theresa May made clear she did not rate their chances of staying in a job after she hands over to the new PM next week. A Downing Street spokesperson said her successor would “no doubt” take their abstentions into account when forming a government.

Culture minister Margot James quit the government to join the 17 Tory rebels voting for the amendment, while a further 30 abstained. And foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt had to apologise after abstaining by mistake, when he wrongly thought he had been given permission to stay away.

The 315-274 defeat was one of a series of setbacks for Mr Johnson, after the Office for Budget Responsibility warned a no-deal Brexit could cause a year-long recession, while a report on the Irish border advised him to sign up to Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement, which he has said is “dead”.

Meanwhile, a bizarre publicity stunt which saw him wave a kipper over his head at a Tory leadership hustings backfired, as his claim that Isle of Man producers of the smoked fish were suffering from EU red tape was debunked.

Branding his claim “fake news”, the European Commission pointed out that the regulations involved came from the UK government and that the island was anyway not part of the EU.

The Commons vote confirmed, by a comfortable margin of 41, a House of Lords amendment from Wednesday evening requiring the new PM to stage regular debates and votes this autumn on the progress of talks on restoring power-sharing institutions in Northern Ireland.

And it added a provision, tabled by Labour’s Hilary Benn, making explicit that if the house is suspended at the time the government report on the issue, it must be recalled for at least five days.

It is thought the measure will prevent Mr Johnson from asking the Queen to use a mechanism called prorogation to lock the doors of the Commons on MPs who might otherwise block no deal.

The tactic has been branded a “constitutional outrage” and former PM Sir John Major has threatened legal action to stop it, but Mr Johnson has not ruled it out.

Mr Hammond said: “The Conservative Party has always, at its core, had a fundamental belief in the importance of strong institutions – and in a representative democracy there can be no more vital institution than its parliament.

“It should not be controversial to believe that parliament be allowed to sit, and have a say, during a key period in our country’s history.”

Also backing the amendment were Conservative former ministers Guto Bebb, Steve Brine, Alistair Burt, Jonathan Djanogly, Justine Greening, Dominic Grieve, Sam Gyimah, Richard Harrington, Phillip Lee, Sir Oliver Letwin, Sarah Newton and Ed Vaizey as well as fellow Tory MPs Jeremy Lefroy, Paul Masterton, Antoinette Sandbach and Keith Simpson.

Mr Djanogly said that suspension of parliament to force no deal through would have led to “civil insurrection and violence”.

“Prorogation for Brexit purposes would have been damaging to our constitution and the Conservative Party and have led to civil insurrection and violence,” he tweeted. “Parliament’s dismissal of this absurdity will be appreciated by our new PM – whether they admit to it or not.”

Ms James said she had become “increasingly uncomfortable” about the potential for the UK to crash out without an agreement at the end of October.

She told BBC2’s Newsnight that “quite a number of people” would quit the government and do “everything they can with myself and others to make sure we leave with a deal” if Mr Johnson becomes PM.

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the result, saying: “For Boris Johnson to try to shut down parliament to force through a destructive no-deal Brexit would be a constitutional outrage. Now it would also be unlawful. A huge victory.”

Liberal Democrat leadership hopeful Sir Ed Davey said the result amounted to “the first defeat of Johnson before he’s even taken office”.

“The outrageous failure of him to rule out proroguing parliament has been an utter disgrace,” he said. “Parliament has just stood up against tyranny.”