
Thousands of Leave supporters gathered outside Parliament to protest against the delay to Brexit, on the day the UK had been due to leave the EU. Traffic was brought to a standstill, amid chants of Brexit now. The March to Leave, which started in Sunderland a fortnight ago, has also arrived in Westminster.

Members of Parliament have rejected Theresa May’s EU withdrawal agreement on the day the UK was due to leave the EU. The government lost by 344 votes to 286, a margin of 58. It means the UK has missed an EU deadline to delay Brexit to 22 May and leave with a deal.

United States Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday he had a productive working dinner the previous night in Beijing, kicking off a day of talks aimed at resolving the bitter trade dispute between the world's two largest economies.

One of the UK's largest airlines are facing legal action which claims pilots and cabin crew are regularly exposed to toxic fumes during flights. The Unite union said legal notice has been served in 51 cases, the majority of which are against British Airways.

Princess Cruises and Fincantieri announced on Thursday the signing of the final contracts for the construction of two next-generation 175,000-ton cruise ships, which will be the largest ships ever built so far in Italy, with deliveries scheduled in Monfalcone in late 2023 and in March 2025. This announcement follows the initial signing of a memorandum of agreement between the two parties in July 2018.

Pope Francis has addressed the mystery of why he withdrew his hand from worshippers' kisses, explaining it was a simple question of hygiene. Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said the Pope was worried about germs when meeting Catholics last Wednesday.

A record 2.9 million children from working families in the UK are living in poverty after housing costs have been paid, the latest figures show. This means 70% of all poor children were in working families last year, up from 67% on the previous year, official statistics show.

The EU free-trade deals that the UK government has managed to roll over are incomplete, say trade experts. The UK Trade Policy Observatory told Newsnight the deals cannot guarantee trade will continue for British companies in a no-deal Brexit.

MPs will be asked to vote again on Brexit on Friday but only on part of the deal negotiated with the EU. They will vote on the withdrawal agreement on the Irish backstop, divorce bill and citizens' rights. But it will not amount to a third meaningful vote on the deal, as it will not include a vote on the UK's future relationship with the EU.

Efforts to persuade MPs to back Theresa May's Brexit deal will continue on Thursday, a day after she promised to quit as PM if it was approved. Her pledge brought some on-side, such as ex-foreign secretary Boris Johnson.