Here's to us! The moment Tory rebels celebrated Theresa May's humiliating Brexit Bill defeat with wine in Commons bar

  • Theresa May was handed her first legislative defeat after losing Commons vote 
  • The vote could undermine Mrs May in Brussels and tighten the Brexit timetable
  • Tory rebels were later pictured sitting around bottles of wine in Westminster bar
  • Anna Soubry denied drinking champagne, saying they took no pleasure in defeat

Tory rebels who delivered a humiliating blow to Theresa May's Brexit Bill last night were later pictured sitting around bottles of wine in a Commons bar.

Eleven Conservative MPs last night backed an amendment giving them a legal guarantee of a vote on the final Brexit deal, despite government pleas to let ministers retain control.

At least, four of the rebels, Antionette Sandbach, Anna Soubry, Bob Neill and Heidi Allen, were pictured drinking glasses of white wine following the government's setback.

The photo, shared online since the vote, led to Mrs Soubry being accused of celebrating the result with champagne. 

Tory Brexit rebels Antionette Sandbach (left), Anna Soubry (second from left), Bob Neill (centre) and Heidi Allen (right) sit around a table of wine glasses after inflicting a humiliating defeat on Theresa May last night

Tory Brexit rebels Antionette Sandbach (left), Anna Soubry (second from left), Bob Neill (centre) and Heidi Allen (right) sit around a table of wine glasses after inflicting a humiliating defeat on Theresa May last night

Former minister Anna Soubry angrily denied heckles in the Commons today over alleged celebrations of the PM's setback

Former minister Anna Soubry angrily denied heckles in the Commons today over alleged celebrations of the PM's setback

It is not clear exactly when the picture was taken or by whom, although the MPs seem to be wearing the clothes they were in yesterday.

Ms Soubry told the Commons today that the rebels had taken no pleasure in the stinging result and turned on an MP on the Tory benches who heckled her for 'drinking champagne'.

A clearly furious Ms Soubry shot back: 'Nobody drank champagne on these benches.' 

Last night's shock result sparked a furious war of words between the rebels and Brexiteers, with one MP even calling for colleagues to be deselected for undermining the PM's negotiating position. 

As Mrs May prepares to head for a crucial EU summit in Brussels later, the European parliament's chief Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt waded into the row by mocking the Vote Leave referendum slogan, saying the Commons had 'taken back control'.

David Davis warned the rebels they had 'compressed the timetable' for Brexit by forcing through an amendment to the flagship EU Withdrawal Bill

David Davis warned the rebels they had 'compressed the timetable' for Brexit by forcing through an amendment to the flagship EU Withdrawal Bill

The EU parliament's Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt gloated about the bloody nose suffered by Mrs May

The EU parliament's Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt gloated about the bloody nose suffered by Mrs May

The government was defeated by a margin of four votes, losing 309 to 305 and Labour MPs joined the rebels in cheering and applauding as the extraordinary result was announced. 

Nadine Dorries, Conservative MP for Mid-Bedfordshire, said: 'The Tory rebels have put a spring in Labour's step, given them a taste of winning.

'They have guaranteed the party a weekend of bad press, undermined the PM and devalued her impact in Brussels. 

'They should be deselected and never allowed to stand as a Tory MP, ever again.'

Answering questions in the Commons this morning, Brexit Secretary Mr Davis refused to rule out trying to reverse the setback later in the legislative process.

'We will have to decide how we respond to it,' he said.

Brexiteer Nadine Dorries reacted furiously to the vote, demanding the rebels be 'deselected' 

Brexiteer Nadine Dorries reacted furiously to the vote, demanding the rebels be 'deselected' 

A rebellion of Conservative MPs handed Theresa May her first ever legislative defeat on the Brexit Bill last week (pictured is the result being announced) 

A rebellion of Conservative MPs secured a crunch Commons vote 309 to 305 - handing Mrs May her first ever legislative defeat by just four votes in an historic blow to her already shaky credibility (pictured is the vote being declared last night)

WHAT DOES THE RESULT MEAN? 

Ministers had proposed that Parliament could have a 'take it or leave it' vote on Theresa May's final Brexit deal with Brussels. 

If they rejected it, Britain would leave with no deal. 

But rebels feared the vote would come too late to give them a 'meaningful' say on the shape of Brexit.

Now, as result of last night's vote, MPs and peers have the opportunity to amend any deal and in theory force Mrs May back to the negotiating table.

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To compound her difficulties, Mrs May faces another crucial vote in the Commons next week over fixing the Brexit date in law of March 29, 2019. 

She will head to Brussels today for a European Council meeting. 

A furious Mrs May quickly sacked former minister Stephen Hammond from his role as Tory vice-chairman after he joined the revolt.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt played down the impact today, insisting the Brexit process would not be derailed.

'I don't think it should be a surprise that in a hung Parliament, Parliament wants to reassert its right to scrutinise the process,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'But we should also be clear this isn't going to slow down Brexit, it's not going to stop Brexit.' 

Asked whether MPs now had the power to force the Government back to the negotiating table, Mr Hunt said: 'Parliament can say whatever it wants but of course renegotiation is something that involves two parties.'

Theresa May (pictured on the red carpet at the Sun Military Awards minutes after last night's defeat) has vowed to press on with her Brexit legislation

Theresa May (pictured on the red carpet at the Sun Military Awards minutes after last night's defeat) has vowed to press on with her Brexit legislation

ELEVEN TORY REBELS ENOUGH TO DEFEAT MAY

Eleven Conservative MPs were enough to defeat Theresa May - despite her concession winning over three others moments before the vote.

The 11 rebels were: 

Dominic Grieve

Heidi Allen

Ken Clarke

Nicky Morgan

Anna Soubry

Sarah Wollaston

Bob Neill

Stephen Hammond 

Oliver Heald

Jonathan Djanogly

Antoinette Sandbach

A 12th Tory in the aye lobby was John Stevenson who voted both ways - an active abstention

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Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn branded the result 'a humiliating loss of authority for the Government on the eve of the European Council meeting'. 

But ministers have  hinted they could try to overturn the result at a later stage in the legislation. 

Two Labour MPs - Frank Field and Kate Hoey - voted with the Government. 

During the debate yesterday, Ken Clarke signalled his support for the amendment, saying the key thing around a meaningful vote was its timing.

He said: 'The vote's got to take place before the British Government has committed itself to the terms of the treaty-like agreement that is entered into with the other members.

'Any other vote is not meaningful.'

Mr Clarke said it was 'quite obvious' that the Government was not going to be 'remotely near' a detailed agreement by March 2019.

He added: 'It's not a question, I may say, to my desperately paranoid eurosceptic friends, that somehow I am trying in some surreptitious Remainer way to put a spoke in the wheels of the vast progress of the United Kingdom towards the destination to which we are going.

'But they don't know what Leave means, because nobody discussed what Leave meant when we were having the referendum.' 

Another rebel, Antoinette Sandbach, expressed fears that a vote on a Brexit deal motion outlined by the Government could be 'meaningless'.

Labour MPs bunched the air in jubilation and Remain MPs across the Commons cheered and applauded as the extraordinary vote was announced (pictured) 

Labour MPs bunched the air in jubilation and Remain MPs across the Commons cheered and applauded as the extraordinary vote was announced (pictured) 

Justice Minister Dominic Raab urged the rebels to drop their amendment, adding: 'If we waited for the Withdrawal Agreement Bill not just to be introduced after the withdrawal agreement has been signed, but fully enacted, waiting for the full passage of that to happen we would not have the time deal with the volume of technical legislation that we need to put through under secondary legislation.

'There is no getting around the timing issue, we have got the long tail of technical regulatory secondary legislation we need to get through if we want to provide legal certainty that will make a smooth Brexit.' 

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