It’s the 10th defeat they’ve suffered on the bill…
The House of Lords has backed a move aimed at preventing a hard border being imposed between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
The upper house supported an amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill that would bar the introduction of border checks and any form of physical infrastructure, unless it was priorly agreed by the Irish government.
Voting was 309 to 242, majority 67, for a change to the European Union Bill designed to protect the Good Friday peace agreement and continued North-South co-operation.
The amendment requires the British government to act in a way compatible to the Good Friday Agreement and to negotiate Brexit in such a way that no hard border is put in place between the north and south.
It’s the 10th time that Theresa May’s government have been defeated by the upper house over the European Union Bill, although it’s likely that MPs will reverse the ruling in the House of Commons.
Pressure is building on May over her Brexit bill, with the bill returning to the House of Commons after completing its passage through the House of Lords next week.
Speaking after the decision from the House of Lords, Brexit Minister David Davis said at Brexit questions:
“We have said categorically that there will be no physical infrastructure or related checks and controls at the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
“We’ve set out our clear commitments on borders and put forward two potential customs models, which were just referred to earlier.”
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