UK PRIME MINISTER Theresa May has said the crucial House of Commons vote on the Brexit deal will take place in the middle of January. 

May, addressing the UK parliament this afternoon, said that MPs will be able to vote on the controversial deal in the week starting 14 January.

The prime minister returned meet her EU counterparts over the last week where she told MPs she received further clarity on the proposed backstop. The backstop would come in the form of a temporary UK-wide customs arrangement, with specific rules for Northern Ireland.

Earlier this month, May postponed the vote on the deal as it appeared it was to be heavily defeated.

May also warned that a second Brexit referendum would do “irreparable damage” to British politics when she addresses the House of Commons today.

“Let us not break faith with the British people by trying to stage another referendum,” she is expected to tell parliament, according to extracts from her speech released by Downing Street.

“Anther vote… would do irreparable damage to the integrity of our politics and to our precious United Kingdom.”

May has long faced calls for a second referendum to resolve the impasse over the terms of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union.

However, the British Prime Minister has argued that this would betray the 2016 result and undermine public confidence in politics.

Campaigners for another referendum believe that May’s comments demonstrate that the idea is being taken seriously.