UK PM May asked her lawmakers to support call for alternative to Northern Irish backstop: source

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May has asked her lawmakers to support a proposal which calls for the Northern Irish backstop in her Brexit deal with Brussels to be replaced with alternative arrangements, a source in her office said on Monday.

Lawmakers will on Tuesday debate and vote on May's next steps, after the overwhelming rejection of her Brexit plan earlier this month, and have been proposing “amendments” seeking to shape the future direction of Brexit.

Many pro-Brexit lawmakers oppose the so-called “backstop”, an insurance policy aimed at preventing a hard border in Ireland if no other solutions can be agreed.

The source said May told a meeting of her Conservative lawmakers on Monday that they would be told to vote in favor of an amendment, proposed by senior Conservative lawmaker Graham Brady, which calls for the backstop to be replaced with “alternative arrangements”.