The Prime Minister was thrown a lifeline by MPs tonight after they backed a call for her to renegotiate her Brexit deal.

A number of Kent Conservative MPs who had helped sabotage the original deal put to the Commons a fortnight ago swung behind an amendment that removed the Northern Ireland backstop and replaced it with "alternative arrangements" - although what these are is unclear.

North Thanet MP Sir Roger Gale said: "As a result of tonight's votes, and the adoption of Sir Graham Brady's amendment which I was proud to sponsor, we have moved a step closer to delivering on the result of the referendum while protecting our security and our economy.

"We have a long way to go but it has been a good night's work and we now have to wish the Prime Minister every success in what will be intense negotiations with the European Union."

Dover MP Charlie Elphicke said he had been won round by the Prime Minister after he urged her during the debate not to allow an extension to Article 50 and to ensure the government “honoured the referendum result” and ensure Labour’s wrecking tactics did not succeed.

Opening the debate, the Prime Minister acknowledged there was a "limited appetite" in the EU for changes to the deal, but she believed she could "secure" it.

Mrs May received a fillip in a testing day when the Euro-sceptic ERG - made up of hard-line Brexiteer MPs said its members would back an amendment put forward by Sir Graham Brady.

The South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay and Gravesham MP Adam Holloway are both members of the group.

Speaking after the results of a series of amendments, the Prime Minister insisted that she had a mandate to renegotiate the Brexit deal.

She said that she would seek “legally binding” agreements for any new deal but admitted negotiations would not be easy.

She also invited party leaders to further talks about what would be needed to get a deal through Parliament.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he would accept the invitation to contribute to talks about what should be in the renegotiated deal.