UKIP has released its official report into the clash between MEPs Steven Woolfe and Mike Hookem in the European Parliament. Mr Woolfe collapsed in the hours following the incident, and both men have since given contrasting reports of what happened.

UKIP chairman Paul Oakden said the true facts of what happened were "impossible to determine". He said a formal reprimand would be placed on Mr Hookem's internal record, saying he had not been the "instigator" and had an "excellent record" as an MEP.

Mr Woolfe is no longer a UKIP MEP, having quit the party after the incident.

Select Committee
Parliament

Speaking to the European Scrutiny Committee, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox suggested that after leaving the EU the UK could find any trade deal it attempted to negotiate vetoed - as Canada has seen happen to its Ceta deal. 

Mr Fox said: "The UK's agreement in terms of disaggregation with the EU is not a free trade agreement as such, but is dependent on QMV [qualified majority voting] through the council, and therefore not subject to the same sort of veto as we've seen here [referring to Ceta]. 

"That sort of procedure would only be undertaken were we to leave the EU after our Article 50 period without any agreement whatsoever and were looking to seek a new free trade agreement from outside."

The suggestion here is that trade negotiations between the UK and EU made between the triggering of Article 50 and the date the UK leaves the EU would not be at risk of veto by EU member state parliaments as they would only require a majority vote in the Council of European leaders to be ratified. 

However, if the UK were not able to negotiate a trade agreement before the deadline of leaving the EU, it would find itself in a similar position to Canada, negotiating a free trade agreement as a non-EU state and subject to the threat of veto by the national parliaments of the European Union.  

House of Commons
Parliament

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry says Labour's debate on Yemen is "not about the causes of the conflict and whether it is justified" but about "the way the conflict is being conducted".

Furthermore, there is a debate over "whether Britain should continue to support the Saudi forces leading one side in that conflict".

She says the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has reported that there were 2,067 civilians killed in Yemen between 1 July 2015 and 1 July 2016, and "60% of those deaths were caused by Saudi airstrikes".

Reality Check

In Prime Minister's Questions, Labour MP Luciana Berger said: "Her health secretary stood at that despatch box on 9 December and told us that the proportion of funding going into mental health from every one of our CCGs should be increasing."

"Why is it then that 57% of CCGs in our country are reducing the proportion of spend in mental health?"

The figures came from a freedom of information request, external that she had submitted herself.

There are 211 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in England, of which 128 responded to her request, with 73 saying they had reduced the proportion of their budget they plan to spend on mental health over 2016/17 from 2015/16 levels. 

Separate analysis, external published earlier this month by the King's Fund, which was referred to by Jeremy Corbyn earlier in PMQs, found that 40% of mental health trusts had their budgets cut last year.

Select Committee
Parliament

Professor Sionaidh Douglas-Scott disagrees with Ms Wheeler's view by saying that the UK government has interfered with EU nationals' rights in the UK and says there is an issue with whether that interference is lawful.

She argues that the government could say that the referendum vote gives it authority, but warns: "I'm not sure that would satisfy the test of legality according to Article 8 of the European Convention."

Professor Douglas-Scott says that any such disagreement would centre on assumptions of why people voted the way they did in the referendum.

Professor Colm O'Cinneide joins the discussion by saying that under Article 8 the issue of "embeddedness" of EU nationals in UK society is the important consideration, as the more "embedded" someone becomes, the greater the evidence a government would have to prove if they wanted to interfere with their rights.

A Wales Office minister says promises made during the EU referendum campaign are not binding on government.

Select Committee
Parliament

Liam Fox says that the UK may find any deal between it and the EU subject to a veto, much like Ceta, if it leaves without agreeing terms of trade during the Article 50 negotiation period. 

Mr Fox said that the negotiation terms of the UK's departure from the EU would be subject to a vote in the European council, and would not be a free trade agreement as such. 

If the UK were to leave the EU without a trade agreement in place through that voting process, it would then be in the position of negotiating a free trade agreement from outside the EU, in a similar manner to Canada and the Ceta negotiations. 

Select Committee
Parliament

Jacob Rees-Mogg asks Liam Fox for his department's opinion on what will happen to trade agreements that apply to the UK, but were negotiated as part of an EU-wide agreement, after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Fox says there's a range of opinion on where the UK would stand after leaving the EU - if trade deals would continue to apply, or if they would have to be renegotiated -  if Ceta is not ratified by the time Article 50 is triggered.

House of Commons
Parliament

The government has conceded there were serious problems with the Concentrix contract and did not put down its own amendment to Labour's motion. Accordingly, Conservative MPs to not oppose the motion and it passes without a vote.

The second subject for opposition-led debate today is the "conflict and humanitarian situation in Yemen".

House of Commons
Parliament

Treasury Minister Simon Kirby, closing the debate, says there is "no doubt" that mistakes were made and that "the level of customer service... was not good enough".

The government "will take any complaint seriously and provide compensation where appropriate", he tells the House.

The government wants to provide a "quality tax and benefits service".

House of Lords
Parliament

Liberal Democrat Baroness Hussein-Ece says that among Muslims the scheme is "discredited". 

She says that "one child a week under the age of 10" is referred to the programme, often wrongly. This has a negative impact on their lives, health and schooling, she says. She asks how that is "engaging positively" with minority communities.

Baroness Williams reiterates that Prevent is "trying to protect people" but that the "government recognises need for much enhanced training in this area".

Select Committee
Parliament

Former barrister and judge Lord Woolf asks Ms Wheeler about the rights and status of EU nationals living in the UK before the referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union.

This relates to the potential impact of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects privacy and family life, on EU nationals living in the UK and UK nationals living in other EU member states in terms of their right to stay.

Ms Wheeler says there should be "clarity as soon as possible" on this position but argues that the resolution of this issue is a political question.

She says the decision will be "informed rather than determined" by Article 8 rights.

House of Lords
Parliament

It's been a stormy question session for ministers this afternoon and it's fair to say that peers have not liked the answers they've heard. 

During the final question of the day, on the government's Prevent anti-terrorism strategy, minister Baroness Williams of Trafford faces some tough questioning over the controversial scheme. 

Labour's Lord Morgan says the implementation of the strategy in universities can make Muslim students feel "more isolated" and that the government should "steer clear of freedom of speech issues".

Baroness Williams of Trafford says the government is "not trying to curtail freedom of speech" but is trying to protect young people who may be targeted by terrorist recruiters.

House of Commons
Parliament

"I welcome the mea culpa from the minister in relation to this," says shadow Treasury minister Peter Dowd, "but I'm afraid that doesn't go far enough."

He says it is difficult to "put a cigarette paper" between Concentrix and the government when apportioning blames, but adds: "I opt for the government."

If a company is paid to find "error and fraud, it will start with the easy targets", Mr Dowd argues.

He says the arrangement resulted in "overbearing state intrusion into private lives" and calls on the government to apologise.

He also calls for oversight of Concentrix until its contract with HMRC ends.

Select Committee
Parliament

Marina Wheeler tells the committee that being freed from the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, external' application will "in fact strengthen our domestic human rights system". 

She says that this is for three reasons - the first being that in her opinion the Charter is a "very poorly crafted mechanism".

Ms Wheeler also argues that the Charter has a confused relationship with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and undermines it.

Thirdly she argues that public confidence in EU supervision of human rights is "already at a low ebb".

Jamie MacColl from Bombay Bicycle Club launches a campaign, called Undivided, to make sure that young people’s interests are represented in Brexit negotiations.

House of Lords
Parliament

There appears to be much support for a Royal Yacht on the Tory benches.

Minister Earl Howe tells members that "times have changed" and that "there are a variety of ways" that UK business can be promoted abroad; and mentions the Royal Family and the Red Arrows among others.

Labour frontbencher Lord Touhig says he doesn't "care one way or another" about a Royal Yacht and goes on to ask a question on poor armed forces morale. 

He asks for assurances that if the government does change its mind, armed forces funding will not be diverted to this "peripheral matter". Earl Howe agrees that there's no question of MoD money being diverted to a Royal Yacht.

House of Commons
Parliament

SNP MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh thanks her constituency staff for dealing with people "at the end of their tether" as a result of the tax credits problems, adding that the staff of MPs across the House will have had similar experiences.

Another SNP MP, Ronnie Cowan, says that the staff of Concentrix and HMRC should not be blamed for the situation.

"The welfare system, as designed, is flawed," he says, arguing that it has "made life more complicated for those who need support".

Select Committee
Parliament

Committee chair Harriet Harman kicks off the session by asking each witness what their initial thoughts are of the human rights impact of Brexit on human rights.

First, Professor Sionaidh Douglas-Scott from Queen Mary University says the implications are "quite serious".

Professor Douglas-Scott says Brexit has implications for nationals who have moved from one state to another, especially in terms of free movement rights, but argues there are also implications for UK nationals who stay put.

She says that the EU provides "many, many rights for UK nationals" - including non-discrimination rights, privacy rights, social rights etc.

In the absence of EU protection to back up the rights, Professor Douglas-Scott says they are "at the mercy of various attempts to repeal them".

Jeremy Corbyn says Theresa May's "cunning plan" on Brexit reminds him of Blackadder's Baldrick.