“The meaningful vote has been voided of meaning” due to Sir Oliver Letwin’s amendment, Prime Minister Boris Johnson tells MPs.
He was speaking after the the House of Commons backed a proposal to withhold approval for his agreement until formal ratification legislation had been passed.
Sir Oliver had told MPs that his amendment was an “insurance policy” to stop the UK “crashing out automatically” of the EU on 31 October if the necessary legislation was not passed in time.
It means the prime minister is required by law to ask the European Union for a three-month delay to Brexit if a deal is not approved by parliament by the end of Saturday.
But Mr Johnson told MPs: “I will not negotiate a delay with the EU and neither does the law compel me to do so.”