Lord Heseltine to head Tory rebellion against PM on Brexit

Theresa May is facing a rebellion in the House of Lords - with Tory grandee Michael Heseltine vowing to defy the Prime Minister and back opposition efforts to ensure Parliament gets a meaningful vote on the final outcome of Brexit negotiations.

Lord Heseltine said Labour, Lib Dem and rebellious Conservative colleagues are prepared to throw their support behind a change to the Government's Brexit Bill.

They want Parliament to have the ability to veto the outcome of Mrs May's negotiations in Brussels, including if she walks away without a deal.

Writing for The Mail on Sunday, Lord Heseltine said he was not engaging in a "confrontation" with the Government - but warned the Supreme Court's ruling that MPs and peers have ultimate authority over Brexit needs to be upheld.

He wrote: "In the end the outcome of Brexit will have to be confirmed by Parliament.

"It will also have to pass in 27 national European parliaments, several sub-national parliaments and the European Parliament.

"It was perhaps unwise for our Government to suppose that our Parliament should be excluded where all others were included."

Senior ministers have vowed to thwart Lord Heseltine's rebellion - telling the newspaper that he and his supporters as "bad losers who are trying to wreck Brexit".

Sky's Chief Political Correspondent Jon Craig said Lord Heseltine's decision to lead the charge against Article 50 will be a "rallying call to the rebels".

He explained: "They want more votes before a Brexit deal happens and also protection for EU citizens living in this country.

"It is a headache that Theresa May could do without as she is celebrating a good by-election result in Copeland."