Britain at crossroads as lawmakers urged to back EU withdrawal move

LONDON, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Lawmakers in Britain's House of Commons prepared to vote Friday on Prime Minster Theresa May's controversial Brexit DEAL.

The debate is being held on what should have been the day Britain finally left the European Union (EU).

MPs will be voting on whether to back or reject the DEAL May brokered last year with Brussels.

It has already been rejected twice by MPs, once by a record 230 margin and by 149 votes on its second outing earlier this month.

If MPs approve today's move by May, Britain will have until May 22 to get the necessary legislation through parliament.

If they reject the DEAL Britain will have until April 12 to announce to the EU a different approach to Brexit or leave the EU with no DEAL.

Most of Britain's national newspapers Friday devoted their front pages to the latest twist in the long-running Brexit saga, which started in a June 2016 referendum when the British people voted by a 52-48 margin to leave the EU.

"The day of reckoning" was how the Daily Telegraph headlined its report, while the Daily Express described March 29 as the "Darkest Hour for Democracy."

The Telegraph described the debate as May's "last chance" push to get her Brexit divorce DEAL approved.

Under the headline "One Last Chance," the Daily Mail said Britain was meant Friday night to be the moment Britain became a proud nation. Instead, the British Parliament is in paralysis.

Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, opening the debate, said the purpose of Friday's debate was to secure an extension of Britain's membership of the EU until May 22.

If the DEAL is rejected, any further extension of EU membership beyond April 12 could be vetoed by any of the 27 EU member states.

He said if MPs approved the withdrawal agreement, it would lead to MPs voting later on the withdrawal legislation needed to approve it in law.