Boris and Rees-Mogg keep May waiting to the last minute on Brexit after fiery clashes over her deal
TOP Brexiteers today kept Theresa May waiting before revealing whether they'll back a last-ditch plan to save her Brexit deal.
Boris Johnson warned the PM he'll only support her if she pledges to rip up the existing deal - after the pair clashed in front of Tory MPs last night.
And Mr Rees-Mogg said: "Let's just wait and see."
The showdown came as Mrs May asked MPs to back a Commons motion which is set to come up for a vote tonight.
The Prime Minister wants Tories to get behind an amendment tabled by Sir Graham Brady which would see the Irish backstop dropped from Mrs May's Brexit deal.
Some Brexiteers have refused to support the move without more detail on what would replace the backstop.
Today Boris said he'd only get on board if the PM promised to rewrite her deal entirely - rather than adding an additional clause placing limits on the backstop.
He tweeted: "If the Prime Minister indicates in the debate that she will be pressing Brussels to reopen the withdrawal agreement to make changes to the backstop, I will gladly support the Brady amendment.
"But what we need is to achieve something legally binding - and that means part of the WA.
"We can’t have some codicil or letter or joint declaration. We need to go back into the text of the treaty and solve the problem."
His intervention came just 24 hours after he claimed a "freedom clause" fixing the backstop could be enough to get his support.
During the tense meeting last night, Boris repeatedly yelled out: “But what do YOU want to do, Prime Minister?”
What do YOU want to do, Prime Minister?
Boris Johnson
Mrs May replied to the ex-Foreign Secretary: "We won’t know unless you support us Boris - get behind us and you’ll find out!"
She also vowed to "battle away" during talks with Brussels in coming weeks.
This morning Mr Rees-Mogg told the BBC: "Let's see what the Prime Minister says at the despatch box today and what the Brady amendment really means.
"If the Brady amendment is a Government amendment, effectively, that means the Withdrawal Agreement will be reopened.
"That's very different from a worthy backbench motion that doesn't do anything. So let's just wait and see on that."
Crunch Brexit vote explained
What happens in tonight’s vote?
The vote in Parliament this evening is a result of the defeat of Theresa May's deal earlier this month.
The law states that after the deal's defeat, the PM must make a statement in the Commons announcing her plans - which she did last Monday, saying she would press on with her current deal.
The Government must then table a so-called "neutral" motion to be voted on - stating simply that the House of Commons "has considered the statement" made by the PM.
Why does the vote matter?
Whether or not MPs vote in favour of the motion tabled by Mrs May is literally meaningless.
But crucially, the motion can be amended - giving the Commons the right to pass any resolution it wants and dictate to the Government what it should do next.
What are the amendments?
There are two main amendments - one from Labour's Yvette Cooper which rules out a No Deal Brexit, and another from top Tory Graham Brady which kills off the Irish backstop.
But another dozen amendments have also been tabled from across the political spectrum.
Commons Speaker John Bercow will this morning select roughly half a dozen which will go to a vote from around 7pm.
Most of the amendments aren't legally binding but would provide a clear political message to the Government.
But the Cooper amendment is legally binding - making it more worrying to ministers than the others.
So what next?
Tonight’s vote is not a rerun of the first "meaningful vote" on whether or not to approve the Brexit deal.
That is likely to come some time in February - whatever happens this evening.
The DUP is also holding off until later today before making a decision on whether to back Sir Graham's motion.
The final verdict could come just minutes before MPs vote on it.
Tonight MPs will vote on the way forward on Brexit, in the wake of Mrs May's historic defeat earlier this month.
The PM is keen to face down Remainer attempts to rule out No Deal and give MPs the power to delay Brexit.
And she is backing the Brady amendment, on the grounds it would allow her to return to Brussels and finally sign off on a deal safe in the knowledge that the Commons would support it.
Trade Secretary Liam Fox said: "I think we should send the Prime Minister back to Brussels with a strong mandate to be able to say 'If you compromise with us on this one issue, on the the backstop, we would be able to a get an agreement'."
Guide to the key Brexit amendments
A TOTAL of 14 different amendments have been tabled to today’s Brexit motion.
Up to half a dozen will be pushed to a vote - but most aren't legally binding, and two of the amendments are seen as key.
COOPER AMENDMENT - RULE OUT NO DEAL
Labour's Yvette Cooper has teamed up with Tory ex-minister Nick Boles to try and take No Deal off the table.
The cross-party amendment would force the Government to introduce a bill giving unprecedented powers to MPs.
The House of Commons would be able to vote to delay Brexit by up to nine months if Britain is heading towards a No Deal outcome.
The bill states that if there is no deal in place by February 26, MPs could then instruct the Government to seek an extension of Article, 50, the legal mechanism taking us out of the EU.
Jeremy Corbyn is expected to back the amendment tomorrow - giving it a good chance of success.
BRADY AMENDMENT - DROP THE BACKSTOP
Sir Graham Brady is one of a group of senior Brexiteers who've tabled an amendment to kill off the Irish backstop.
The amendment states that the Commons is prepared to back Theresa May's deal, but only on condition the backstop is " replaced with alternative arrangements to avoid a hard border".
Although it wouldn't be binding, Sir Graham says that if it passes it would allow the PM to return to Brussels and secure changes to the withdrawal agreement.
The Government is supporting the amendment and will tell Tory MPs they must vote for it.
But it's up to Speaker John Bercow to pick which amendments are voted on - so he could scupper Mrs May's hopes by refusing to select the Brady one.
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Speaking to talkRADIO, he added: "What the Government is looking for a legally binding text.
"Would the Government be willing to put up the withdrawal agreement for that? The answer is also yes."
The EU has previously insisted that it's impossible to rewrite the withdrawal agreement that was signed off in November.
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