Labour frontbencher Diane Abbott backed the Government’s Brexit Bill giving Theresa May the power to formally trigger the UK’s departure from the EU.
Shadow Home Secretary and Corbyn ally Ms Abbott, who had last week blamed a migraine for a failure to attend a key vote on the Bill, backed the triggering of Article 50 on Wednesday night.
But speaking shortly after casting her vote, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington said that she believed Brexit would be “quite disastrous”
Ms Abbott told Sky News: “The Shadow Cabinet agreed this week that we would vote for the third reading of Article 50, and I did that.
"I think that a Tory Brexit is going to be quite disastrous.
”I don’t believe we’ve given a blank cheque no, we’re going to be holding them to account… on the floor of the House."
It will now have to pass through the House of Lords before Mrs May can invoke Article 50, which she has promised to do by April.
The key vote caused more problems for Labour than the Prime Minister as Jeremy Corbyn faced another revolt in his own ranks.
Senior frontbencher Clive Lewis sensationally resigned as shadow business secretary ahead of the vote.
The Norwich South MP said he handed his resignation with a “heavy heart” as he planned to vote against the Article 50 bill.
In a renewed wave of defiance against Mr Corbyn 52 Labour MPs voted against the bill at final reading, five more than voted against it as second reading last week.
A total of 11 Labour junior shadow ministers and three whips, who are meant to enforce party discipline, voted against triggering Article 50.
The frontbenchers were Rosena Allin-Khan, Kevin Brennan, Lyn Brown, Ruth Cadbury, Rupa Huq, Chi Onwurah, Stephen Pound, Andy Slaughter, Catherine West, Alan Whitehead and Daniel Zeichner.
The whips were Thangam Debbonaire, Vicky Foxcroft and Jeff Smith.
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