LONDON: Britain’s upper house of parliament inflic­ted an embarrassing defeat on Prime Minister Theresa May’s government on Wed­n­e­sday, challenging her refu­sal to remain in a customs union with the European Union after Brexit.

The prime minister, who has struggled to unite her Conservative party over Brexit, has said Britain will leave the EU’s single market and customs union after it quits the bloc next March so that London can forge its own free trade deals.

That stance widened divisions within the party and raised the prospect of defeat in the House of Lords, where the Tories do not com­­mand a majority.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2018