The meaningful vote on the Brexit deal will not take place until mid-January, the Prime Minister has announced.

The postponed vote, which had been due to take place on December 11, is now set for the week starting January 14.

The final days of debate on the deal are to recommence in the week beginning January 7.

Addressing MPs, Theresa May said progress had been made during her visit to Brussels on getting reassurances that the Irish backstop would be temporary.

She cancelled the meaningful vote last week due to the lack of support in the Commons for her deal, which she attributed to concerns among MPs over the backstop.

Jeremy Corbyn described the Prime Minister as the "architect" of a "constitutional crisis" and told MPs he will table a motion of no confidence in May over her handling of the Brexit deal vote.

He said: "It's very clear that it's bad, unacceptable that we should be waiting almost a month before we have a meaningful vote on the crucial issue facing the future of this country.

"The Prime Minister has obdurately refused to ensure a vote took place on the date she agreed, she refuses to allow a vote to take place this week and is now, I assume, thinking the vote will be on January 14 - almost a month away.

"This is unacceptable in any way whatsoever."

The SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford quipped "we thought the Prime Minister had reached rock bottom, but she's still digging".

The Prime Minister told MPs: "Avoiding no deal is only possible if we can reach an agreement or if we abandon Brexit entirely."

She said no other deal was going to "miraculously appear" if her agreement is rejected by the House.

May rejected the idea of a second Brexit referendum - known as a People's Vote - saying it would "break faith with the British people" and do "irreparable damage to the integrity of our politics".

She added: "I can confirm today that we intend to return to the meaningful vote debate in the week commencing January 7 and hold the vote the following week."

Responding to May, the Labour leader said she had led the country into a "national crisis" and had "cynically run down the clock".

"The deal is unchanged and not going to change. The House must get on with the vote and move on to consider the realistic alternatives," Corbyn said.

He added: "A responsible Prime Minister would for the good of this country put this deal before the House this week so we could move on from this Government's disastrous negotiation.

"This is a constitutional crisis and the Prime Minister is the architect of it. She is leading the most shambolic and chaotic government in modern British history."

Speaking after Corbyn, Blackford said: "After two years of negotiation the Prime Minister has designed a deal that she knows that she cannot deliver - it doesn't have the support of this House.

"It is time to call time on this Government, it is a laughing stock."

The SNP MP closed his remarks by calling on May to "stop operating in isolation" and meet with opposition leaders to discuss a way forward.

The Prime Minister said she was happy to meet with Blackford but warned they would have a "fundamental difference of opinion" on whether to remain in or leave the EU.

The mid-January meaningful vote will come within seven days of the January 21 deadline for Parliament to agree a deal enshrined in the UK's Withdrawal Act.

The legislation states that if the Commons has not ratified a withdrawal agreement by then, the UK Government must state its intentions, raising the likelihood of no deal.

Under Article 50, Britain will leave the European Union on March 29.