UK Lords set to pass Brexit law forcing May to consult parliament on delay

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's upper house of parliament is expected to pass a law later on Monday that will force Prime Minister Theresa May to seek a delay to the country's exit from the European Union to prevent a disorderly Brexit on April 12.

May has already requested an extension to Britain's EU membership until June 30 and is working with the opposition Labour Party to come up with a different exit plan, in a last-ditch attempt to keep control after her own Brexit deal was rejected three times by the lower House of parliament.

But, lawmakers want additional legal guarantees against a 'no-deal' exit, and have torn up convention by driving their own piece of legislation through parliament against the prime minister's will.

The bill passed through the lower chamber, the House of Commons, by a single vote last week and is now in the House of Lords, an unelected body whose role is to refine and scrutinize legislation before it is approved. It must pass both houses to become law.

Despite attempts by pro-Brexit peers to filibuster the bill's progress last week, Lords resumed the debate on Monday, with the expectation that it would be approved later in the day.

It will then need to be returned to the Commons for final approval - which could bring further attempts to block it by Brexit-supporting lawmakers - before it is formally brought into force by a rubber-stamp process known as 'Royal Assent'.

If these stages are all completed as expected on Monday, the bill compels a minister to set out to parliament on Tuesday the government's plan to request a delay and then allow parliament to debate and, if necessary, amend the date.

This creates another flashpoint in a deeply divided body of lawmakers that could undermine May's attempts to persuade Brussels she can pass a deal if they give her more time.

May is due to travel to Paris and Berlin on Tuesday to press her request for a short delay, before it is formally discussed by EU leaders at a special summit on Wednesday.

However, the passage of the bill represents a significant blow to May's authority, overturning the long-standing convention that the government usually has sole control of the agenda in parliament.