Around 20 Tories defied their leader and vote to make it even harder to leave without an agreement in place - but ministers dismissed the result
THERESA May has suffered yet another humiliating Brexit ambush tonight as a group of rebel MPs SUNK her No Deal plans.
Labour joined forces with the DUP and Tory rebels to pass a motion 303 to 296 which will make it much harder to leave with no agreement in place at all.
Around 20 Tories defied the Government and teamed up with Jeremy Corbyn to BAN ministers from changing tax laws in a No Deal situation unless MPs openly vote for it, we get a deal passed, or Article 50 is delayed.
Those who rebelled included ex-ministers Michael Fallon and Justine Greening, as well as Sam Gyimah and Richard Benyon.
The humiliation, which will tie minister's hands in getting ready for exit day on March 29, is just the latest in a string of losses the Government has faced over Brexit.
But Downing Street played down the impact, insisting it was "inconvenient" but wouldn't stop HMRC being able to collect taxes.
Treasury minister Robert Jenrick said the "simple truth" remained that the UK would leave the EU on 29 March.
All it would do, he told MPs, would be to make the UK "somewhat less prepared".
The plan was spearheaded by Labour's Yvette Cooper, Tory Nicky Morgan, Hilary Benn and Sir Oliver Letwin.
Ms Morgan told MPs in the Commons: "It is right that parliamentarians on both sides of the house should rule out the most damaging thing that could happen on 29 March."
And another Tory rebel and ex-minister, Sir Oliver Letwin, said today: "The majority tonight that is expressed in this House will sustain itself. We will not allow a no deal exit to occur at the end of March."
Labour boss Jeremy Corbyn said Theresa May should now "rule out No Deal once and for all".
Ms Cooper, one of the ringleaders of the plot, said after the vote today she was "very glad" MPs had backed her amendment.
She said: "It shows the determination in Parliament to come together to prevent a chaotic and damaging No Deal that would hit manufacturing, policing and security."
But Brexit boss Steve Barclay said this morning it was "illogical" for MPs to vote to trigger Brexit and then vote against both Mrs May's deal AND No Deal.
Mr Barclay said today: "You either have a deal, the EU is clear it's the only deal available, or No Deal."
And Liam Fox said it was "irresponsible" to try and stop Britain from having the proper laws in place when we leave the EU.
Today Amber Rudd said history would take a "dim view" of ministers if they left the EU with No Deal.
She told Cabinet earlier the UK would be much less safe.
And Business Secretary Greg Clark said No Deal "should not be contemplated".
As the clock ticks down to exit day on March 29, Government departments are doing more to prepare for a No Deal Brexit in case nothing can be agreed.
And as it stands MPs are set to vote down Mrs May's deal next week.
But a group of MPs have succeeded in saying they will block No Deal all the can with a series of changes to the Finance Bill.
They will make it law that emergency powers used to change money laws should NOT be able to come into place unless MPs agree a deal, the Government extends Article 50, or the House of Commons backs a No Deal Brexit.
So many MPs are opposed to leaving without an agreement on March 29, that it would be near impossible for Parliament to vote to approve it.
The plans could cause a Government meldown if we left the EU without a deal on March 29.
It would mean ministers were not able to change taxes after we leave.
But Government sources have insisted the defeat doesn't mean anything in practise, and it will still be fine to leave in March.
They have said that we will still be able to leave as planned, but we might not be as well prepared.
The move doesn't actually stop the Government from being able to collect tax.
Tonight's vote is more symbolic, because it shows that MPs are opposed to leaving without a deal, and will try to block it at all costs if they can.
The news comes as:
Sources told the that UK officials were "putting out feelers" about whether Britain could push back our exit date from March 29.
The PM has repeatedly promised Brits that we WILL leave the bloc this March, no matter what happens, and any delay would be seen as a total betrayal of the referendum result.
Yesterday digital minister Margot James spooked Westminster when she openly discussed the possibility of a delay to Article 50.
She was slapped down by No10 who said it was not the PM's intention to do that - but no one has ruled it out this week.
The Brexit Secretary insisted this morning that the Government was not looking at any delays to Brexit Day.
He said: "If you wanted to extend that, which is not our policy, you would run into Parliamentary elections at the end of May... and it's not a unilateral decision for the UK Government.
"It would require the consent of every one of the member states."
Meanwhile, Mrs May's deal is still up in the air as politicians from across the spectrum have vowed to vote it down.
But the PM said yesterday she will still press ahead with a vote on it next week - and over the weekend refused to say she wouldn't bring it back again and again until it's passed.
However, it's still facing huge opposition from MPs - and is still set to be defeated in the Commons on Tuesday 15 January.
Yesterday the PM held a drinks reception in Parliament to try and win over wavering MPs.
She's planning a three step blitz to win them over with a vote by MPs to enter the hated Northern Ireland backstop, and more assurances that it it will stick to the same rules as Northern Ireland if we ever were to go into it.
But Tory Brexiteer James Gray joked last night that he would only change his mind if the food on offer was good.
He told Newsnight: "I’m going to make up my mind entirely based on the quality of the wine and canapes that are served.
"If we get bog-standard No.10 nasty red, warm white, and a sausage on a stick, no chance."
And she's also working on getting more concessions from the EU too - including promises that we'll have a trade deal in place within a year after the transition period ends.
Yesterday Irish PM Leo Varadkar suggested that could be something the EU could help with.
He told reporters: "We don’t want to trap the UK into anything – we want to get on to the talks about the future relationship right away. I think it’s those kind of assurances we are happy to give."
But Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg insisted that the deal is dead in the water as the DUP are still not behind it.
He wrote this morning: "There is a quotation often attributed to Einstein, that the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.
"We can only hope it does not apply to Her Majesty’s Government."
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