Theresa May calls off MPs’ vote on her Brexit deal

Theresa May says she has called off Tuesday’s crucial vote on her Brexit deal because it would be “would be rejected by a significant margin”.

She said MPs backed much of the deal she has struck with the EU but there was concern over the Northern Irish backstop.

But she said she believed she could still get the deal through if she addressed their concerns.

And that, she added, was what she intended to do in the next few days.

She said she would be speaking to EU leaders ahead of a summit later this week.

And she would also be “looking closely at new ways of empowering the House of Commons to ensure that any provision for a backstop has democratic legitimacy”.

She wants to enable MPs to place obligations on the government “to ensure that the backstop cannot be in place indefinitely”.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the prime minister had “lost control of events” and the government was in “complete chaos”.

The pound fell sharply in response to the reports earlier of a likely delay, shedding 0.5% versus the US dollar to stand at $1.26, an 18-month low. The pound was 0.8% down against the euro.

Mrs May’s Commons statement will be followed by a statement from Commons leader Andrea Leadsom – and then a statement from the Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay on Article 50 – the legal mechanism taking the UK out of the EU on 29 March.

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said the situation was “quite frankly a bit of a shambles” and the PM was paying the price for crossing her “red lines” when it came to Northern Ireland.

Theresa May’s deal has been agreed with the EU – but it needs to be backed by the UK Parliament if it is to become law ahead of the UK’s departure.

Mrs May is thought to be trying to convince MPs to back her deal by suggesting the Northern Ireland backstop – the main item they object to – could be modified.

DUP leader Arlene Foster said she had told the prime minister in a phone call that the “backstop must go”.

Mrs May has also been speaking to EU leaders about re-opening the withdrawal agreement, something both sides have previously ruled out.

It comes as the European Court of Justice ruled the UK could cancel Brexit without the permission of the other 27 EU members.

But European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said the EU would not renegotiate the Withdrawal Agreement.

BBC