MPs have voted to delay Brexit beyond the scheduled date of March 29 amid dramatic scenes in the House of Commons.

The vote came after Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement was rejected for the second time on Tuesday and MPs voted the following day to rule out a no-deal Brexit.

A motion in Mrs May's name, authorising the Prime Minister to request an extension to the two-year Article 50 negotiation process, was passed by 413 votes to 202 - a majority of 210.

But Downing Street sources accepted that significant numbers of Conservative MPs had opposed the PM's proposal, saying this was a "natural consequence" of Mrs May's decision to offer a free vote on an issue where many have strongly-held opinions.

The Dorset MPs who voted for the motion were Tobias Ellwood (Bournemouth East), Simon Hoare (North Dorset) and Oliver Letwin (West Dorset).

Voting against were Conor Burns (Bournemouth West), Christopher Chope (Christchurch), Robert Syms (Poole), and Michael Tomlinson (Mid Dorset and North Poole).

MP for New Forest West Desmond Swayne also voted against the motion.

Only a refusal by the leaders of the 27 remaining EU states to grant the UK an extension at a Brussels summit next week could now preserve the totemic date of March 29 as Brexit Day.

Mrs May has made clear that she hopes to bring her Agreement back to the Commons by March 20 in the hope of securing the support of MPs who rejected it by 230 votes in January and 149 earlier this week. Aides declined to name a date for the third "meaningful vote".

If she succeeds, she will go to Brussels next Thursday to request a short delay to a date no later than June 30, to give herself time to pass legislative changes necessarily for a smooth and orderly Brexit.

But if her deal is rejected for a third time, she believes any extension would have to be far longer and would involve the UK taking part in European Parliament elections in May.

Cabinet Office minister David Lidington told MPs that in this case, the Government would stage two weeks of debate following the March 21-22 summit for the Commons to try to establish a majority around a different plan.

Earlier, MPs decisively rejected an attempt by the Independent Group to secure a second referendum on Brexit by 334 votes to 85.

Mr Bercow sparked fury among Brexiteers by selecting TIG MP Sarah Wollaston's referendum proposal for debate, while blocking another amendment which sought to rule out a second public vote.

And by the far narrower margin of 314-312, they voted down a cross-party bid for Parliament to seize control of the Brexit process.

The cross-party amendment, tabled by MPs including Labour's Hilary Benn and Yvette Cooper and Tory Sir Oliver Letwin, would have forced a set of "indicative votes" to determine the preferred Brexit outcome of the House of Commons.

A Labour amendment demanding an extension to Article 50 withdrawal negotiations to provide time to "find a majority for a different approach" was also defeated. The votes came as US President Donald Trump said Brexit was ripping Britain apart and warned that another referendum would be "unfair".