The withdrawal agreement struck between UK Prime Minister Theresa May and the EU has been rejected for a third time in the House of Commons in London.

The vote today (Friday, March 29) was carried out on the agreement itself, without the legally-binding element which had accompanied the motion on the previous two occasions, which had failed to pass through parliament.

In today’s vote, the Brexit withdrawal agreement was defeated by 344 votes against to 286 votes for.

[yes-app]

[/yes-app]

Once again, the DUP refused to back the motion with the party’s Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson outlining that its stance “has not changed”.

UK Attorney General Geoffrey Cox told the House of Commons that this is the “last opportunity to take advantage of our legal right” to delay Brexit to May 22.

Prime Minister May urged MPs before the vote to back the deal as the “last opportunity to guarantee Brexit”.

On Wednesday, the prime minister said that she would resign if the agreement was passed, in a bid to win support for the deal among her more rebellious party members.

Following this defeat, it now appears that the UK is set on course for the earlier departure date of April 12. It is unclear as to what the prime minister’s next move will be from here.

In response to the rejection, President of the European Council Donald Tusk has decided to call a European Council on April 10.

More to follow.