Brexit vote setback for Boris Johnson in Parliament

Parliament has emptied and the action appears to be over, at least for the time being.

Brexit watchers are shifting their attention to 11 p.m. local time (6 p.m. ET), the deadline for Boris Johnson to request an extension to Article 50 from the European Union. 

He is legally obliged to do so and has previously stated that the government would comply with the law. However, today in the House of Commons he caused huge confusion, after saying that the law didn’t “compel” him to “negotiate” a delay to Brexit. Government officials elected not to clear up the messy words of the Prime Minister and as things stand, we are in the dark as to exactly what is going to happen, or if we will even hear what Johnson chooses to do. 

Right now, Johnson will be talking with strategists and his closest aides working out what they can do.

They need to not break the law, but they need to not look as though they’ve gone back on their pledge of not delaying Brexit. 

It’s a tricky corner to be in and there’s a very real chance that as the deadline hits, we will be none the wiser if the Prime Minister has broken the law or not.

Conservative MPs including Andrea Leadsom, Michael Gove and Jacob Rees-Mogg were given police escorts from Parliament due to the presence of protesters at the anti-Brexit rally in central London.

Videos posted on social media show the politicians being escorted by police as protesters waving EU flags shout lines such as “shame on you”.

Sky News journalist Jason Farrell tweeted a video of Michael Gove walking to his car, flanked by several police officers.

Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg was walking from Parliament with his son as protesters surrounded them.

“Thank goodness for our superb police. Just walked home safely from HoC with their protection - why do the so called ‘People’s Vote’ protesters think it’s ok to abuse, intimidate and scream in the face of someone they don’t agree with? So frightening, and so grateful to the police,” Andrea Leadsom tweeted.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar confirmed that the EU hasn’t received a request for a Brexit extension yet. Boris Johnson has until 11 p.m. UK time to make one.

Here’s what Varadkar said:

The leader of the House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, has indicated that the government would bring forward another vote on Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal on Monday. 

That section of the withdrawal act legislation provides for a vote in the House of Commons on the result of a negotiated agreement with the European Union – in other words a “meaningful vote.”

Ordinarily, the same provision can’t be voted on twice in the same parliamentary session. That convention scuppered ex-Prime Minister Theresa May’s plans to hold repeated votes on her withdrawal deal some months ago.

The Speaker of the House, John Bercow, said in Parliament that he would rule on the matter on Monday.

Crowds earlier in central London.

Up to one million protesters are marching in London to call for a second Brexit referendum, according to protest organisers.

In a statement, the People’s Vote march estimated the amount of attendees by the number of coaches bringing people to the demonstrations, leaflets distributed publicising the march and online sign-ups to the event which have exceeded previous marches organised by the campaign. Authorities have not given estimates of crowd sizes.

Government officials have refused to clarify Boris Johnson’s words that the Benn act does not “compel” him to “negotiate” a delay to Brexit.

In a huddle with the UK’s political press a short while ago, Johnson’s spokesperson said that they would not comment any further than the remarks made by the Prime Minister in the House of Commons.

They said that “governments comply with the law,” which is a notable move from this government’s previous position that it would abide by the law. 

When asked directly by CNN if that previous position remained, officials one again declined to comment. 

Now that a deal has not been agreed today by the House of Commons, Johnson is legally obliged to send a letter to Brussels requesting that Article 50 be extended before 11 p.m. local time (6 p.m. ET).

The government’s spokesperson gave no clarity on this matter and did not say if the letter would be made public. 

The spokeswoman for Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU Commission President, has just tweeted this:

The House of Commons’ Twitter account has clarified that the law mandates the Prime Minister to request a Brexit delay.

“Today is a historic day for Parliament,” says Jeremy Corbyn, adding that MPs “will not be blackmailed by the Prime Minister.”

“I invite him to think very carefully about the remarks he just made,” Corbyn adds, warning Boris Johnson not to break the law.

The SNP’s Ian Blackford follows Corbyn, saying Johnson “thinks he’s above the law … prime minister, you’ll find yourself in court.”

And Jo Swinson, the Liberal Democrat leader, asks the Speaker of the House to suspend the sitting so Johnson can send the letter to the EU requesting an extension – a request which is denied.

“Alas, the opportunity to have a meaningful vote has effectively been passed up,” Boris Johnson says in Parliament, after losing the vote on Oliver Letwin’s amendment. “The meaningful vote has been voided of meaning.”

“I’m not dismayed by this particular result,” he says. “The best thing for the UK and for the whole of Europe is for us to leave with this new deal on October 31.”

He then indicates he may not follow the Benn Act, which mandates him to now request a Brexit delay tonight.

“I will not negotiate a delay with the EU, and neither does the law compel me to do so,” he says. “Further delay will be bad for this country.”

Johnson also says Brexit legislation will come back to the Commons next week.

MPs have supported the Letwin amendment, which delays a decision on Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal and rules out a no-deal Brexit on October 31.

It’s a big defeat for Boris Johnson, who may now pull the vote on his Brexit deal later today.

The Prime Minister is now also forced to seek an extension to Brexit tonight.

A result on the Letwin amendment vote is imminent…

Lawmakers are voting now on the Letwin amendment, which has the potential to upend the Brexit process by withholding support of Boris Johnson’s deal until he has passed all the other legislation needed to avoid a no-deal.

The government plans to pull its vote on the main deal if Letwin passes, a senior government source told CNN earlier.

Voting should take about 15 minutes.

Former Conservative MP (and Winston Churchill’s grandson) Nicholas Soames is voting against the Letwin amendment, and for Boris Johnson’s deal, he has just tweeted.

He joins Alistair Burt, who like Soames was expelled from the Conservative party by Boris Johnson for opposing a no-deal, in refusing to back the amendment.

It’s going to be tight.

A 29-year-old man has been arrested at the Palace of Westminster for “trespassing at a protected site”, City of Westminster Police said on Saturday.

“He has been taken to a south London police station. Enquiries ongoing,” police said on Twitter.

Responding to the incident, a spokesperson for House of Commons authorities said: “We are aware of an incident involving a visitor in a public area of the Parliamentary estate. Security staff and the Police attended and the situation has been resolved.”

A large anti-Brexit protest is ongoing around Parliament.

Take a look at the vast crowds gathering in central London, as part of a People’s Vote march demanding a second referendum on Brexit.

A handful of politicians are set to run out of the chamber and address the crowds during the afternoon, ahead of the crunch vote later.

Westminster is buzzing. Sitting just outside the reporters’ gallery, silence is sporadically broken by the cheering and jeering of lawmakers meters away. Occasionally, the noise from the anti-Brexit demonstrators who have shut down a major part of central London drifts through the windows. 

Inside Parliament, members of the public are eager to get into the public gallery to watch MPs debate the future of this country.

If you wanted an idea of how important today is: people are standing in a queue to join another queue. At the end of the second queue, you can watch the debate on television while waiting for up to four hours to take a seat in the public gallery, which holds about 100-120 people. 

Inside the debating chamber, the mood is tense. It doesn’t take much for the Brexit factions, who have been arguing now for three years, to erupt and start yelling at one another. 

It’s no doubt going to be raucous later when they actually get to vote on things. 

Outside Parliament, anti-Brexit and pro-Brexit demonstrators are paving the street. Today there happens to be an anti-Brexit rally so one side is better represented. But the streets are thick with people waving flags and holding signs. 

How today ultimately plays out remains anyone’s guess. But it’s obvious to anyone that something important is happening. 

Harriet and Michael at the Brexit march.

The common message being heard from protesters at the Brexit march in London today is a defiant one: even if lawmakers support Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s deal and Britain leaves the EU, it is not the end.

“It won’t be over. Even if they vote and we leave it won’t be over for 10 years. We’ve then got to negotiate trade deals,” one marcher named Michael tells CNN.

“I think that if we leave, we’ll end up joining again in 15, 20 years’ time, because young people like my kids believe implicitly in the EU,” he says.

“I’m really upset because it’s not just going to be a cancer for this year but it’s going to be a cancer for the next two decades.”

Harriet adds: “I’m marching mainly for my kids and my mum who lives in France, because Brexit is already destroying lives

It’s just craziness to force through legislation that’s going to damage everybody and everything in this country.”

Marchers will be listening closely when MPs vote on Johnson’s deal in the coming hours – eager to find out what the next stage in their fight will be.

Theresa May is back on her feet in the House of Commons, just a few months after she resigned as Prime Minister.

In case anyone was wondering whether she’d pull the greatest plot twist in British political history and vote down Boris Johnson’s deal – she won’t.

“It’s simple: do we want to deliver Brexit? Do we want to deliver on the result of the referendum in 2016?” she asks, questioning whether MPs “really meant it” when they voted to allow the referendum.

“If this Parliament did not mean it, then it is guilty of the most egregious con trick on the British people,” May adds.

We’re now around half an hour into debate on Oliver Letwin’s all-important amendment. Opening proceedings, the former Conservative MP explained it is intended to prevent a no-deal next week.

Following Letwin in the debate, the SNP’s Ian Blackford says “there is a very real risk that a no-deal Brexit takes place by the back door.”

All Brexit assessments show that the UK will be poorer, “no matter how we leave the European Union,” he notes, asking why the government has not done an economic impact assessment of Boris Johnson’s deal.

“It absolutely beggars belief,” Blackford adds. “Every version of Brexit is going to leave us worse.”

Still confused about the Letwin amendment and what it has to do with the Brexit withdrawal deal? Read this.