Theresa May’s government found in contempt in parliamentary first over Brexit

In a UK parliamentary first, British politicians have found the government in contempt for refusing to publish advice from the country’s top law officer about Brexit.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May’s government has been held in contempt over a Brexit vote. Picture: AP

The British government suffered a major blow as it lost a parliamentary vote on legal advice it received on the Brexit deal agreed with EU leaders last month.

A motion by the main opposition Labour Party to find the government in contempt of parliament for failing to publish the advice was passed by 311 MPs in favour to 293 against.

It came as Brexit firebrand Nigel Farage said he was leaving the UK Independence Party, which he used to lead and turned into an influential force in British politics.

“With a heavy heart, I am leaving UKIP. It is not the Brexit party our nation so badly needs,” Farage wrote in a column for the Daily Telegraph.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May at the beginning of a debate on the Brexit deal. Picture: AFP

The government reacted to the defeat by saying it would published the “final and full” advice tomorrow.

Opponents believe the advice will reveal Attorney-General Geoffrey Cox’s misgivings about the Brexit agreement.

Britain's Attorney-General Geoffrey Cox reacting as the outcome of a vote on a motion to find Government Ministers in contempt of parliament is passed, and ordering Britain's Government to publish the full legal advice on the Brexit deal. Picture: AFP

The vote has little direct impact on the Brexit debate, but reflects mounting tension between the government and parliament over the next steps in Brexit.

Labour’s Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said: “This House has now spoken and it’s of huge constitutional and political significance. It is, I think unprecedented for this House to find government ministers in contempt”.

Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Keir Starmer, left, and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, listen to Prime Minister Theresa May's statement on Brexit. Picture: AP

Parliament is set to begin debating the divorce deal agreed between the government and the European Union, before a vote on December 11.