Theresa May: Brexit bill 'must be passed unamended'
Mrs May says she is "committed" to triggering Article 50 by the end of this month, despite yesterday's defeat in the Lords.
Thursday 2 March 2017 19:54, UK
The Government's bill to begin Britain's exit from the European Union must be approved "unamended", Theresa May has said.
The Prime Minister's intervention comes after a defeat in the House of Lords over protections for EU citizens.
Peers guaranteeing the rights of EU nationals in the UK post-Brexit.
But a spokesman for the PM said she remained "committed" to meeting the deadline to trigger Article 50 by the end of March.
He said: "Our message to MPs is that we expect this bill to go through unamended.
"MPs voted it through unamended and we expect that to be the case."
The Government has said that while it wants to secure the future rights of EU citizens in the UK, it needs to be able to secure the same rights for British citizens living in the EU at the same time.
The bill is now expected to return to the Commons on 13 and 14 March.
A similar amendment has already been rejected by MPs, and if they do so again the amendment will then "ping pong" back to the Lords.
Opposition parties have urged Conservative MPs in the House of Commons to back the amendment.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said: "We have fought to defend the rights of EU migrants here who contribute so much to our public services and our economy.
"We urge the Government now to immediately bring forward the guarantee to protect the rights of EU nationals resident here.
"We are working now with our European colleagues to protect the rights of EU citizens here, but also UK citizens in the EU."
Lord Tebbit sparked anger in the Lords chamber when he accused peers attempting to protect the rights of EU nationals "of thinking of nothing but the rights of foreigners".
He told the Sky News All Out Politics programme it was "the ambition" of some peers "to screw up the schedule".
But Lord Newby, leader of the Liberal Democrats in the Lords, said to resolve the issue before a reciprocal deal was reached with the EU was "the right thing to do".
"Two wrongs don't make a right," he said.
"Many Europeans in the UK are very worried because they don't trust the Government.
"Even if you have a prolonged ping pong which is unlikely, I think the Lords collectively will back off.
"The longest ping pong we have ever had in my 20 years in the House of Lords took 36 hours.
"So the idea that when we send this back to the Commons... that this somehow jeopardises the 31 March deadline is complete baloney."
Senior opposition parties have indicated they will not seek to defeat the Government again, potentially allowing the PM to invoke Article 50 on 15 March.