LIVE: Theresa May's Brexit deal hopes dashed after Attorney General refuses to change his legal advice

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Theresa May

• Theresa May heading for defeat after her Attorney General refuses to change his legal advice on her Brexit deal.
• Geoffrey Cox says the legal risk of Britain being kept in the Northern Ireland backstop against its will is "unchanged."
• The blow to May's chances of passing her deal comes ahead of a crunch vote on Tuesday evening on the deal.
• If defeated May will trigger a series of votes on delaying Brexit.

LONDON - Theresa May is heading for another defeat after the Attorney General refused to change his legal advice on her revised Brexit deal.

Geoffrey Cox told MPs that the "legal risk" of Britain being kept in the controversial Northern Ireland backstop against its will remained "unchanged."

However, he said the deal did "reduce the risk" of Britain being held in their indefinitely.

It comes as the House of Commons prepares to vote on the Withdrawal Agreement for a second time, having rejected a previous version of the deal by a record-breaking margin of 230 votes in January.

The UK prime minister traveled to Strasbourg, France on Monday evening, where she agreed a series of add-ons to the deal with EU leaders including European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker.

Critics of the deal - the European Research Group of pro-Brexit MPs plus the Democratic Unionist Party which props up May's government - will decide whether to vote for the revised deal after hearing legal advice from Attorney General Geoffrey Cox on Tuesday afternoon.

If the prime minister's deal is rejected for a second time, MPs will later this week have the opportunity to vote to either accept a no-deal Brexit or delay the UK's exit from EU in order to pursue an alternative.

Scroll down for the latest developments in Westminster. All times are in GMT.

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