With the UK about to trigger Article 50, the BBC looks at how the economy has fared since June 2016.

A consultation gets under way next week on plans for a second Scottish independence referendum, the SNP's Nicola Sturgeon confirms.

The UK foreign secretary says those who "prophesied doom" over Brexit will be proved wrong - as European Council president Donald Tusk warns it is either "hard Brexit" or "no Brexit".

• Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called for a second referendum on independence
• The High Court heard the case for making the government pass a law before it can invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which enables the UK to leave the European Union. The government will make its case - that it already has the power to make this decision without the need for a parliamentary vote - on Monday.
• Theresa May's spokeswoman said there were no plans for greater military action in Syria. This followed Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson suggesting the West might do more to stop the city of Aleppo being "pulverised".
• BBC Newsnight learned that MPs are to get the chance to vote on whether to strip retailer Sir Philip Green of his knighthood.
• Several MPs shared their experience of the heartbreak of losing a baby during a special debate devoted to the subject.
• Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard warned Theresa May that she might face further sexist abuse as she spent longer in power.
• And we learned that the amount of wine drunk from the government's hospitality cellar fell by almost a third last year, with the disruption of the general election being blamed.

Downing street says that the Scottish government will not be able to stop Brexit happening. 

But a spokeswoman for Theresa May insisted the prime minister is not "dismissing outright" the SNP's calls for Scotland to be given extra powers over trade or immigration. 

Responding to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's call for extra powers over international deals and immigration, the spokeswoman said that while the limits of Holyrood's powers are clearly defined, Mrs May is willing to "hear views and listen."

She added: "There are examples where Scotland has hugely benefited from the ability of the UK to negotiate trade deals, or through the EU, so all those things will need to be weighed up carefully."

Image source, PA

The prime minister's spokesperson has said that a new royal yacht "is not a government priority".

This follows yesterday's report by the Daily Telegraph, external that Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson solicited private donations for a campaign to purchase a new royal yacht at a gathering of Tory donors. 

A source close to Mr Johnson reportedly said: "A new yacht is not the government’s priority but if private donations happen then good luck to them."

Asked whether Theresa May backed Mr Johnson's suggestion that ministers would not prevent wealthy donors buying the Queen a new yacht, her spokeswoman replied simply: "The prime minister agrees with the foreign secretary that it is not a government priority."    

The shadow cabinet reshuffle continues with seven more appointments following Jeremy Corbyn's re-election as Labour leader.

Mr Corbyn said: "This brings the total number of frontbench appointments to 68 – 39 of whom are women, and 12 of whom are from the black and minority ethnic community."

The new appointees are:

Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities – Paula Sheriff MP

Shadow Minister for Transport – Richard Burden MP

Shadow Minister for Defence – Wayne David MP

Shadow Minister for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office – Khalid Mahmood MP

Shadow Minister for Steel, Postal Affairs and Consumer Protection – Gill Furniss MP

Shadow Minister for Home Affairs – Rupa Huq MP

Shadow Minister for Home Affairs – Lyn Brown MP

Further appointments to the Labour front bench are still to come. 

The Home Office has published a statistical bulletin showing a sharp increase in the level of reported and recorded hate crime during June and July 2016.  

The bulletin says that July 2016 saw a 41% higher rate of reported racially and religiously aggravated hate crimes than July 2015. 

The statistics cover five types of hate crimes: Those related to race or ethnicity, religion or beliefs, sexual orientation, disability and transgender identity.

A similarly large increase in offences was not seen in the other four areas of hate crime. 

Image source, Home Office

Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said that the EU referendum  had a "clear" effect on the rates of hate crime reported in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the government was "determined to stamp it out".  

Read more: Race and religious hate crimes rose 41% after EU vote

Image source, PA

Last week Jeremy Corbyn fired Labour's chief whip in his reshuffle - now she has a new role as an "envoy" for the party.

Rosie Winterton will be Labour's representative on the Presidency of the Party of European Socialists, the party has announced.

In the role she will be responsible for Labour's relationships with its international sister parties.

She said:

This Week

Andrew Neil wil be joined by Michael Portillo and Michael Dugher on the sofa, and they will hear from commentator Katie Hopkins giving her take on Donald Trump.

There will be a film rounding up the week from Miranda Green, before singer Katie Melua will be looking at: Back in the USSR.

They are live from 23:45 BST on BBC One (later in Northern Ireland) straight after Question Time. 

The Daily Politics

Angus Robertson puts the case for Scottish people to get a new independence vote, as he claims "things have turned on their head" since the EU referendum in June.

The Moray MP, who was announced as the new party deputy leader on Thursday, was asked by Daily Politics presenter Andrew Neil what would trigger a second referendum.

Speaking from the SNP conference in Glasgow, he said the party was the "effective opposition at Westminster" asking the "difficult questions" that Labour was unprepared to do.

Adam Fleming
Reporter, Daily Politics

The SNP conference opened on Thursday in Glasgow, where leader Nicola Sturgeon spoke about the Brexit vote, and the drive for a second referendum on Scottish independence.

From Dundee which backed independence in the 2014 vote, Daily Politics reporter Adam Fleming heard views on the chances of a fresh vote on Scotland leaving the UK.

Sarah Smith
Scotland Editor

Image source, Reuters

Nicola Sturgeon told the SNP conference that not a day passes without someone telling her to "hurry up" with a second referendum on Scottish independence.

And every day someone tells her to "slow down".

It is certainly true that every day since the EU referendum the question is asked when, or if, the SNP's call for Indyref2 - as it's known - might happen.

With many commentators (myself included) concluding that the cautious, canny Sturgeon will not rush into a vote she knows she might lose.

Read more...

House of Commons
Parliament

"Nobody in the government has any interest other than getting to the truth in this matter," says Health Minister David Mowat.

He invites MPs to write to him with their concerns about the inquiry; and to meet them to try to ensure they are "content" with the progress of the inquiry.

He defends the members of the Expert Working Panel Group, claiming they are just as interested in getting to the truth.

House of Commons
Parliament

Shadow health minister Justin Madders says Primados was "astonishingly" still being prescribed to pregnant women as late as 1977.

There were "delays between warnings emerging and any action being taken", he adds.

Of the inquiry, he says: "Justice must be done and it must be seen to be done."

House of Lords
Parliament

Crossbencher Lord Bird, who secured today's debate, rounds up the debate by saying it has proven that libraries and bookshops are "not fluffy, not something you can add to society when you've got a few bob in your back pocket".

He says that it's clear that we see them as the "intellectual backbone of society" and promises to continue agitating for a reversal of closures.

Mark Lobel
Daily and Sunday Politics reporter

Big headline-grabbing reforms of the welfare system have not been very good at saving money, a report from the Office for Budget Responsibility concluded.

Daily Politics reporter Mark Lobel looks at a problem faced by governments of all political persuasions trying to reduce welfare spending.

MPs are set to vote on whether Sir Philip Green should be stripped of his knighthood, BBC Newsnight has learned.