16 Jan 2019; AFP: Prime Minister Theresa May faced a confidence vote on Wednesday after MPs overwhelmingly rejected her deal on leaving the European Union, raising fears of a disorderly "no-deal" Brexit.
The humiliating defeat left the process in limbo with 73 days to go before the official departure date and raised warnings of Britain crashing out of the bloc.
May suffered the biggest government defeat in modern British history on Tuesday night when the House of Commons rejected by 432 votes to 202 the withdrawal agreement she struck with Brussels late last year.
The EU immediately warned that the vote raises the risk of a hugely disruptive "no deal" Brexit where Britain could sever ties with its biggest trading partner overnight.
European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker urged London to "clarify its intentions as soon as possible", warning: "Time is almost up."
EU negotiator Michel Barnier said he "regretted profoundly the vote" but that it was "too early to assess all the consequences".
Ireland, the only EU member state with a land border with Britain, said it would now intensify preparations for a "disorderly Brexit".
- Bid for election -
May struck a conciliatory tone after the vote, promising cross-party talks to try and salvage a workable Brexit deal before returning with a new plan next Monday.
May's own backbenchers rebelled in huge numbers, but the ringleaders said they would vote for her in the confidence vote scheduled for around 1900 GMT, which she is expected to win.
"We are going to vote with the government... of course the Conservatives are going to support the Conservative government," leading Brexiteer Steve Baker told the BBC.
The motion was tabled by opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who wants to force a general election.
May's parliamentary allies in Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) have led the charge against her Brexit deal, but do not want a Labour government.
However, Britain's newspapers were withering in noting the scale of her defeat, a damning verdict on 18 months of negotiations with the EU.
The top-selling Sun tabloid said May was "crushed", while the Daily Mail said her power was left "hanging by a thread." One commentator in The Times described her as a "zombie prime minister".
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