British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday suffered a damaging parliamentary defeat over Brexit, after her own MPs rebelled to demand parliament have the final say on the divorce deal with Brussels. Members of May's Conservative party joined with opposition lawmakers to inflict the government's first defeat over the flagship EU (Withdrawal) Bill, sparking huge cheers in the House of Commons.

Ministers had sought to buy off the rebels with a last-minute promise of a parliamentary vote on the separation agreement, but their leader, former attorney general Dominic Grieve, warned: "It's too late." His amendment demanding a statutory vote on the deal before Britain leaves the EU in March 2019 passed by 309 votes to 305. The Brexit ministry said it was "disappointed".

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2017