MPS will get to scrutinise the UK Government’s flagship Brexit Bill next month after several weeks of parliamentary hiatus.

The announcement that the eight-day committee stage will begin on November 14 came after Theresa May’s Government was accused of being in “a mess” over Brexit following the about-face by David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, over the timing of a Westminster vote on the final Brexit deal.

On Wednesday, he said it might be possible MPs might only get to vote on an agreement with the EU once Britain had left, only for the Prime Minister to insist she was confident MPs would, as promised, get a “meaningful vote” before the country withdrew from the EU. Later, the Brexit department put out a “clarification,” underlining Mrs May’s view.

During Commons Business Questions, Andrea Leadsom, the Commons Leader, told MPs the first two days of detailed scrutiny of the Withdrawal Bill would be on November 14 and 15.

Amid claims the UK Government has been working to avoid potential defeats in the Commons, she has previously said the pause was caused by the Government wanting to give "well-considered" responses to more than 300 amendments and at least 54 new clauses.

This week officials from the UK and Scottish Governments are due to begin an “amendments forum” to go through the objections the SNP administration has to the legislation, which it regards as a “power-grab”; a contention strongly denied by the UK Government.

During an Urgent Question on Brexit, which followed the row over Mr Davis’s controversial remarks on Wednesday, Labour’s Keir Starmer accused the Brexit Secretary of getting into a "mess,” having suggested a Westminster vote could take place after Brexit if the Brussels talks went to the wire.

Mr Davis told MPs he "fully expects" MPs and Lords to vote on the final Brexit deal before the UK left the EU in March 2019.

He insisted the choice would be “meaningful: either to accept that deal or to move forward without a deal”.

The Brexit Secretary denied any Government commitments had been undermined by his words, saying he expected a "proper and meaningful" vote on any Brexit deal "at the right time".

The Secretary of State went on: "Of course, this vote cannot happen until there is a deal to vote upon but we are working to reach an agreement on a final deal in good time before we leave the European Union in March 2019.

"Clearly, we cannot say for certain at this stage when this will be agreed but as Michel Barnier[the EU’s chief negotiator]said he hopes to get a draft deal agreed by October 2018 and that's our aim as well.

"So, we fully expect there will be a vote in the UK Parliament on this before the vote in the European Parliament and before we leave the European Union,” he added.

The Government pledge to have a “meaningful vote” was made during the passage of the Article 50 bill in February when Mrs May faced the prospect of a defeat after MPs insisted that they must be given the chance of rejecting the deal.

Later, Tom Brake for the Liberal Democrats claimed the Brexit Secretary’s words were Orwellian.

"David Davis’s definition of a meaningful vote is Newspeak; straight out of the pages of 1984.

“Liam Fox promised this would be the easiest trade deal in history. Now the Government can’t even guarantee a deal will be reached before we leave the EU.”

He went on: “David Davis needs to up his game and get a deal in time for it to be voted on by Parliament and the British people. Anything else would be an insult to democracy.

“The EU Withdrawal Bill is set to be the political battle of a lifetime as we fight to ensure an extreme Brexit cannot be imposed on the country without the consent of Parliament and the public,” he added.

On a related issue, Mr Davis noted how Britain would be placed at a disadvantage if Brexit negotiations extended into the transition period.

The Brexit Secretary told MPs the EU would likely be receiving taxpayers’ money in such a scenario and would want to "spin it out as long as possible”.

He said the Government had to be "practical and sensible" to deliver the best outcome for the British people.

The DUP’s Sammy Wilson said the public would be "bemused by the contrived controversy that has developed here today because even the most uninformed observer will know you can't have a vote on an agreement until you've got an agreement".

The East Antrim MP asked if the Secretary of State shared his concern that "a standalone, unspecified transition arrangement - plus the mixed messages that have come from this House about the willingness to actually respect the wishes of the people of the United Kingdom - is likely to encourage EU negotiators to delay any agreement and the consequences for that of course could be that we keep on paying money into the EU when we don't need to".

Mr Davis replied: "I agree that there's a degree of contrivance in the fuss and noise coming from the other side - there's no doubt about that; that's not new I guess.”

He went on: “With respect to the ongoing transition or implementation period, he's right and that's why I said if we let the negotiation go into that period, then we will be at a disadvantage because the European Union would be receiving money presumably, if that was the arrangement, over time and would want to spin it out as long as possible.

"So, he's quite right. We have to be practical and sensible about this if we intend to respect the will of the British people and deliver the best outcome for them."