Here's your evening roundup of the big political stories:

• International Trade Secretary Liam Fox has claimed the UK's trade with the European Union will be "at least as free" after Brexit as it is now
• But Italian PM Matteo Renzi said it will be "impossible" for Brexit talks to result in a deal that gives Britons more rights than others outside the EU
• The government and French energy giant EDF have signed the key contract for the new £18bn Hinkley Point C nuclear power station
• The most senior lawyer working for the independent inquiry into historical child sexual abuse in England and Wales has been suspended from duty
• The Newmarket farm of Saudi billionaire Khalid Abdullah al Saud - owner of the legendary horse Frankel - is among the top 100 UK recipients of EU farm grants
• An SNP MP has been questioned by police over his financial dealings

An ex-economy minister has been accused by the Welsh Conservatives of breaking the ministerial code by approving £3.4m aid for a firm which later went bust.

Former Gower AM Edwina Hart backed steel-coating firm Kancoat despite a warning of a "weak" business plan.

The Tories claim she may have broken the code because the firm was based near her constituency and she did not consult with the first minister.

The Welsh Government said the code was not broken.

Read more.

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox says he wants the UK's trade with the European Union to be "at least as free" after Brexit.

Liam Fox questions whether tariffs would damage the UK or the EU more.

BBC Radio 4

Lord Owen, who was part of the "Gang of Four" which split from Labour to form the SDP, yesterday recalled that experience and told BBC Radio 4's Midweek programme he didn't think the time was right for another split. 

But he added "the strains and stresses will go on" inside the party and his personal opinion was there would be another Labour leadership election before the next general election.

The Independent Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse has issued a statement after one of its senior lawyers was suspended and another resigned.

"We are aware that recent events are unsettling, particularly for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and all those who are engaged with the Inquiry's work.

"It has been said that the inquiry is in crisis. This is simply not the case, and the chair and panel are united in their determination to see this important work through to a conclusion.

"We are fortunate to have an excellent team of solicitors and barristers working for the inquiry and we are currently reviewing our approach to our investigations so that we can deliver results in a timely and effective way. Our terms of reference provide the flexibility needed to get on with the job of addressing institutional failure.

"The experiences of victims and survivors will provide answers and insights into what went wrong and why. Failure to listen to victims and survivors in the past is the reason we are here today."

The second most senior lawyer on the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex abuse has resigned.

Elizabeth Prochaska was first junior counsel on the inquiry. Senior counsel Ben Emmerson was yesterday suspended by the inquiry.

Elizabeth Prochaska told Newsnight: "I can confirm that after 15 months working on the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, I resigned from my position as junior counsel with effect from 15 September 2016.

"I very much valued the experience of working with the inquiry and I wish all my former colleagues the best as they continue their work."

Glenn Campbell
BBC Political Correspondent

The World Trade Organisation has said it is possible for the UK to be an independent member of the WTO and still be a member of the EU customs union and single market.

Liam Fox's speech earlier set out a vision of the UK as "a newly independent WTO member outside the EU".

Earlier this week, at the WTO, Dr Fox said: "The UK is a full and founding member of the WTO. We have our own schedules that we currently share with the rest of the EU.These set out our national commitments in the international trading system.

"The UK will continue to uphold these commitments when we leave the European Union. There will be no legal vacuum."

Labour's Chuka Umunna says the suspension of the most senior lawyer in the independent inquiry into historical child sexual abuse in England and Wales - is "yet another blow" to those seeking justice.

The MP for Streatham, a member of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, called on the new chair of the inquiry to make clear how long Ben Emmerson QC would be absent from his role.

He said while the inquiry had a big task ahead that was "no excuse" not to press on and get to the bottom of what had happened in the past.

The inquiry says it has "recently become very concerned about aspects of Ben Emmerson QC's leadership" of his team and he had been suspended so these could be properly investigated.

Mr Emmerson said he was "unable" to comment at this time.

The future of subsidised flights between Cardiff and Anglesey could be under threat as a review into the route's viability is ordered.

An SNP MP has been questioned by police over his financial dealings.

Officers interviewed Dundee West MP Chris Law after detaining him in the city on Wednesday.

They are understood to be investigating Mr Law's Spirit of Independence referendum campaign, which he ran ahead of the 2014 vote.

A source close to Mr Law said he was confident the matter would be resolved and that the MP has not been charged with any offence.

Read more.

Following the UK's vote for Brexit, Japanese car manufacturer Honda reaffirms its commitment to the UK as a major manufacturing base., but says it wants a "fast decision" on Brexit.

Image source, EDF Energy

The key contract for the UK's first new nuclear plant in a generation -  Hinkley Point C - has now been signed by the government and EDF.

The French energy company's boss, Jean-Bernard Levy, was in London to sign the deal with officials from the UK, France and China.

EDF is funding two-thirds of the project, which will create more than 25,000 jobs, with China investing the remaining £6bn.

After numerous delays, EDF's board agreed to proceed with the project in July. But Prime Minister Theresa May ordered a review of the deal, just weeks after taking office.

The government approved it two weeks ago, on condition that it could prevent EDF from selling its controlling stake before completion of the project.

Read more

The Liberal Democrats have announced that 20,000 new members have joined the party since the EU referendum.

"The surge in membership has been boosted by the party’s clear pro-European stance, including calling for a referendum on the final Brexit deal, and the re-election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour Party leader last week," a press release claims, adding:

Ben Digby of the CBI has said it is "encouraging" that Liam Fox has made "a robust case for free trade".

However, he added:

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Image source, Getty Images

Former Education Secretary and Remain campaigner Nicky Morgan has criticised the government's "lack of a plan" for Brexit and urged Theresa May to come up with a clear strategy.

Mrs Morgan told Today earlier that the balance between access to the single market and freedom of movement was "at the heart" of the Brexit issue, and urged the PM to hurry up and make her position clear.

The former cabinet minister also cast doubt over statements from EU figures suggesting there will be no budge on the issue, saying "nobody starts the beginning of the negotiating process where they end up".

Meanwhile, a German business boss said Britain had to pursue a hard Brexit if it wants control over immigration. Markus Kerber, head of the BDI, which represents German industry, told Today: "So what we think the British Government wants, I can tell you straight away, it's not what the continental Europeans are willing or even able to give."