Theresa May hails ‘defining moment’ after MPs pass Brexit bill

British Prime Minister Theresa May has hailed the UK Parliament’s vote giving her the green light to formally begin the Brexit process, saying the country faces a “defining moment” as it leaves the European Union.

"I will return to this house before the end of this month to notify when I have formally triggered Article 50 and begun the process through which the United Kingdom will leave the European Union," she told parliament in an address on Tuesday.

The prime minister told MPs that her timetable for invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty by the end of March was on track.

"This will be a defining moment for our whole country as we begin to forge the new relationship with Europe and a new role for ourselves in the world," she said.

May's address to parliament on last week's European Council summit came a day after MPs passed the EU Withdrawal Bill, clearing the way for it to receive Royal Assent and become law in the coming days.

The House of Commons voted down amendments by the House of Lords to protect the status of EU nationals and a “meaningful vote” on any Brexit deal. The bill returned to the Lords, who finally backed down after their objections were overturned by MPs.

The speech also came as Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she intended to call an independence referendum between the fall of 2018 and the spring of 2019.

Sturgeon said Monday that the UK government had not moved even “an inch towards compromise” with Scotland on Brexit, adding that she would ask permission for a second vote to split from Britain.

SS