#Brexit: Theresa May plans 'robust' response to Lords defeat

Theresa May says the government will be "robust" in its response to a House of Lords defeat which potentially gives Parliament a decisive say on Brexit.

No 10 said the cabinet had "strong disappointment" with the vote, adding: "We wish for the bill to go through in the same way it left the Commons."

Some ministers accuse peers of trying to "thwart the will of the people".

But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "Parliament must be sovereign on this matter and make the final decision."

He said the vote marked a "hugely significant moment" in the fight to ensure Parliament has a "proper role" in the Brexit negotiations and a no-deal situation was avoided.

The amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill - which would give MPs the power to stop the UK from leaving the EU without a deal, or make Theresa May return to the negotiating table - was approved by 335 votes to 244 on Monday night in the House of Lords.

After the cabinet meeting on Tuesday (1 May) the PM's official spokesman said the Lords amendment risked tying the government's hands in negotiations with the EU. The government will try to persuade MPs to overturn the change when the bill returns the Commons later this month.

It was one of three government defeats on the Brexit bill on the one day - bringing the total number of government defeats on the EU bill to nine. It is not yet known whether any of the amendments from the Lords will be accepted by the government.

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International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, a leading voice in the 2016 campaign to get Britain out of the EU, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It is not acceptable for an unelected house to try to block the democratic will of the British people."

He said allowing Parliament to send the prime minister back to Brussels if MPs and peers did not like the deal the government had secured with the EU opened up the possibility of "delaying exit from the EU indefinitely".

And the option of "leaving the EU without an agreement" had to be kept on the table.

He said there was a "big debate" to be had about whether an "unelected House" could "thwart the view of the British electorate".

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