QUEEN’S SPEECH U-TURN Theresa May caves in to calls for Northern Irish women to get free abortions in England after threat of rebellion : Sun.

The climbdown came after an amendment on the issue threatened to scupper the Queen’s Speech.

THERESA MAY was today forced into a humiliating climbdown after an amendment to the Queen’s Speech  threatened to bring down her Government.

Labour MP Stella Creasy put forward a proposal which would give women from Northern Ireland access to abortions on the NHS if they travel to England.

Getty Images

Theresa May has performed an embarrassing U-turn over a Queen’s Speech amendment

The proposal was set to be supported by a handful of Tories as well as most opposition MPs – possibly giving it enough votes to pass.

That would have placed the whole Queen’s Speech in jeopardy, because the DUP are staunchly anti-abortion and may have refused to back a Government programme which includes the controversial amendment.

If Mrs May lost the main vote on the Queen’s Speech this evening, she would have to resign as PM and give Jeremy Corbyn the chance to form an alternative government.

This afternoon, Chancellor Philip Hammond announced that Northern Irish women will be able to access free abortions in England in a bid to prevent a rebellion.

Justine Greening, the Equalities Minister, then sent a letter to MPs confirming that the Government Equalities Office would foot the bill for any women from Northern Ireland who come to England in order to have an abortion.

She wrote: “At present women from Northern Ireland are asked for payment, and from now on it is our proposal that this will no longer happen.”

Read More : Sun.