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WATCH LIVE: Emergency debate on preventing no-deal Brexit kicks off in UK parliament UK MPs seize control of parliament to try & block a no-deal Brexit
(about 11 hours later)
UK MPs have launched an emergency debate on measures to prevent a no-deal Brexit. The debate is set to last up to three hours and end in a vote on legislation to block the UK from leaving the EU without obtaining a divorce deal. The British House of Commons has voted in favor of debating a motion to take the no-deal Brexit off the table and asking the EU for an extension. PM Boris Johnson has declared he will call a general election if the motion passes.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson went on Commons floor to make his case in favor of taking the UK out of the EU on October 31 at any cost. Sponsored by Labour MP Hilary Benn and backed by a number of defectors from Johnson’s Conservative party like Oliver Letwin, the motion sailed through the Commons with a vote of 328 to 301 on Tuesday evening. 
The tension in parliament between lawmakers and the PM could ultimately lead to a snap election. “Let there be no doubt about the consequences,” Johnson told the MPs after the result was announced, accusing the Parliament of being “on the brink of wrecking any deal” with Brussels by taking the possibility of unilateral Brexit off the table.
The bill, tabled by Labour’s Hilary Benn, chair of the Exiting the European Union Select Committee, could cause a significant blow to Johnson, who has repeatedly promised to take Britain out of the EU, with or without a deal, by October 31. If Benn’s motion gets approved on Wednesday, Johnson warned, he would call a general election for a new Parliament.
The new law calls for the prime minister to obtain an extension to Article 50 from the EU that runs to “11pm on 31 January 2020.” “There is no consent in this House to leave the EU without a deal,” Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn countered. “There is no majority for no-deal in the country.”
Johnson has called the bill an attempt to "chop the legs from under" his government. A number of high-profile cabinet ministers, including Michael Gove and Gavin Williamson, have suggested that the government may ignore any new law that further delays Brexit. He said he would be fine with a general election, but only after the Commons passes the motion taking a no-deal Brexit off the table.
Johnson has pushed for the possibility of a no-deal Brexit ever since becoming PM in July, replacing Theresa May who resigned over her inability to deliver on a negotiated withdrawal. Yet he has faced a rebellion within the Tory ranks that on Tuesday eliminated his one-MP majority.
Tuesday’s rebellion was led by Sir Oliver Letwin, who co-sponsored the motion with Benn, and backed by a number of prominent former cabinet ministers, such as Phillip Hammond (Exchequer), Greg Clark (Business), David Gauke (Justice), and Justine Greening (Education).
Johnson has threatened to expel the 21 Tories who voted for Tuesday night’s motion, though that would leave him with a parliamentary minority. There were rumors after the vote that the “rebels” would be given a chance to stay in the party if they voted against blocking the no-deal motion on Wednesday, though Johnson has not officially confirmed either course of action.
The deadline given by Brussels for Britain’s departure from the EU was October 31, with a deal or without. If Benn and Letwin’s motion is approved, that would be extended to January 31.
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