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| Brexit: MPs to vote on Article 50 timetable | Brexit: MPs to vote on Article 50 timetable |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| MPs are set to vote for the first time on the government's plan to trigger Brexit by the end of March next year. | MPs are set to vote for the first time on the government's plan to trigger Brexit by the end of March next year. |
| Prime Minister Theresa May agreed on Tuesday to publish her plan for leaving the EU - to avoid a possible Tory rebellion and defeat in the Commons. | |
| The government hopes that move will persuade MPs to support its schedule for starting the process of leaving. | |
| Labour - which initiated the debate - said it would back the timetable but wanted scrutiny of Brexit plans. | |
| Labour's shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer put forward a motion to be debated on Wednesday, with support from some on the Conservative back benches. | Labour's shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer put forward a motion to be debated on Wednesday, with support from some on the Conservative back benches. |
| The party wanted to force the government to reveal its negotiating stance before formal talks with EU leaders begin. | |
| Downing Street tabled an amendment agreeing to outline its strategy, in exchange for MP's approval of the government's timetable for triggering Article 50. | Downing Street tabled an amendment agreeing to outline its strategy, in exchange for MP's approval of the government's timetable for triggering Article 50. |
| BBC political correspondent Alex Forsyth said the government's agreement to publish its plan "did not commit to providing any real detail". | BBC political correspondent Alex Forsyth said the government's agreement to publish its plan "did not commit to providing any real detail". |
| Has the PM backed down over Brexit? | Has the PM backed down over Brexit? |
| By Laura Kuenssberg, political editor | By Laura Kuenssberg, political editor |
| The government has announced that it will accept Labour's idea to publish a plan, of sorts, for Brexit, before Article 50 begins the legal process of the UK disentangling itself from the EU. | The government has announced that it will accept Labour's idea to publish a plan, of sorts, for Brexit, before Article 50 begins the legal process of the UK disentangling itself from the EU. |
| Some Tory MPs were set to gang up with Labour in a vote to force ministers to publish something, anything, about their plans for Brexit, against Theresa May's wishes. | Some Tory MPs were set to gang up with Labour in a vote to force ministers to publish something, anything, about their plans for Brexit, against Theresa May's wishes. |
| Remember, one of the few things that we know for sure about the prime minister's plans for leaving the EU is that she does not want MPs to be able to tinker with them, scrutinise them in a meaningful way, before she actually gets to the negotiating table. | Remember, one of the few things that we know for sure about the prime minister's plans for leaving the EU is that she does not want MPs to be able to tinker with them, scrutinise them in a meaningful way, before she actually gets to the negotiating table. |
| So has she just backed down? In pure terms, yes. Labour's Keir Starmer, the party's Brexit spokesman, will claim victory. And by accepting Labour's idea, ministers have been pushed to do something they had been intent on avoiding - promising to publish their intentions before the technical legal process begins. | So has she just backed down? In pure terms, yes. Labour's Keir Starmer, the party's Brexit spokesman, will claim victory. And by accepting Labour's idea, ministers have been pushed to do something they had been intent on avoiding - promising to publish their intentions before the technical legal process begins. |
| But what will that actually look like? So far, so vague. Accepting the amendment does not mean they have promised to do anything in particular. | But what will that actually look like? So far, so vague. Accepting the amendment does not mean they have promised to do anything in particular. |
| Read more from Laura | Read more from Laura |
| Mr Starmer, who will lead the debate for Labour, called the amendment "a welcome and hugely significant climbdown from the government" and said his party would push for the Brexit plan to be published by January. | Mr Starmer, who will lead the debate for Labour, called the amendment "a welcome and hugely significant climbdown from the government" and said his party would push for the Brexit plan to be published by January. |
| Conservative MP Anna Soubry, who campaigned to remain in the EU, added that the new amendment was a "significant victory". | Conservative MP Anna Soubry, who campaigned to remain in the EU, added that the new amendment was a "significant victory". |
| However, government sources would not confirm any specific form of document on any specific timetable to fit with the commitment to publish a Brexit plan, apart from saying that it would be before Article 50. | However, government sources would not confirm any specific form of document on any specific timetable to fit with the commitment to publish a Brexit plan, apart from saying that it would be before Article 50. |
| Sources also said by accepting Labour's amendment, the government was not agreeing to give MPs a vote before the process of leaving the EU begins. | Sources also said by accepting Labour's amendment, the government was not agreeing to give MPs a vote before the process of leaving the EU begins. |