LONDON: Britain’s upper house of parliament inflicted an embarrassingdefeat on Theresa May’s government on Wednesday, challenging her refusal toremain in a customs union with the European Union after Brexit.

The House of Lords voted 348 to 225 in favor of an amendment to her Brexitblueprint, the EU withdrawal bill, which would require ministers to reporton what efforts they had made to secure a customs union by the end ofOctober.