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MPs to have ‘special sitting’ to decide future of Brexit

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MPs today backed Boris Johnson's Brexit Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) by majority of 99, clearing the way for the UK to leave the European Union with an exit deal on 31 January.

The government is set to call MPs to a special sitting of parliament later this month to decide the future direction of Brexit.

Parliament will meet on 19 October just after a crucial EU summit, which is widely seen as the last hope for the UK and EU to secure a Brexit deal.

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With a deal agreed, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will seek MPs’ approval, according to the BBC.

If there is no deal for MPs to vote on, however, options could range from a no-deal Brexit to a Brexit delay, the BBC reported.

Johnson has pledged to leave the EU with or without a deal on 31 October.

But parliament’s approval of the Benn Act forces the Prime Minister to seek a Brexit delay until 31 January if he has no deal in hand by 19 October.

That would effectively block the PM’s pledge to pursue a no-deal Brexit.

Boris Johnson and Leo Varadkar
Prime Minister Boris Johnson meets with Irish PM Leo Varadkar (Getty Images)

Johnson made what his government called a “final offer” on Brexit to the EU last week, but it was not well received.

Germany chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly told Johnson that a withdrawal agreement based on the UK’s revised offer was “overwhelmingly unlikely”.

A Number 10 source said the call meant a Brexit deal was “essentially impossible”.

European Council President Donald Tusk yesterday tweeted that Johnson was playing a “stupid blame game” on Brexit.

Meanwhile, Irish prime Minister Leo Varadkar said it would be “very difficult” to reach an agreement on Brexit by the end of October, after a 45-minute phone call with Johnson.

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The meeting with coincide with a huge People’s Vote march on Westminster. Hundreds of thousands of campaigners backing a second referendum are due to walk from Park Lane to Parliament Square, starting at 12pm.

Intense negotiations between the EU and the UK are set to continue in the days leading up to the House of Commons’ special meeting, which will take place whether or not Johnson secures a deal.

This is a developing news story. More to follow.