According to the Times, Prime Minister Theresa May had threatened rebel lawmakers in her Conservative Party with a general election this summer if they defeated her Brexit plans on customs.
The Conservative whips issued the warning to pro-EU lawmakers, led by the former ministers Stephen Hammond and Nicky Morgan, minutes before the crucial vote on customs, the newspaper added.
May narrowly survived the vote by a majority of six, although 12 of her MPs walked through the opposition division lobbies in defiance.
Parliament voted 307 to 301 against an amendment to trade legislation that would have required the government to try to negotiate a customs union arrangement with the EU if, by January 21, 2019, it had failed to negotiate a frictionless free trade deal with the bloc.
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