Select Committee
Parliament

Mr Hunt tells the committee is "likely" the headquarters of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will move from the UK, but he wants to ensure there is the "closest possible partnership". 

Labour MP Ben Bradshaw says Mr Hunt seems to be "giving up without a fight" and Mr Hunt insists he is not, but says the EMA is an "EU institution". 

The EMA is based in Canary Wharf in London and is responsible for the protection of public and animal health through the scientific evaluation and supervision of medicines. 

House of Lords
Parliament

It wouldn't be in the House of Lords without a discussion of "the Burkean understanding of our representative democracy"...

Crossbencher Lord Harries of Pentregarth says that ministers talk about an "instruction" from the British people in last year's referendum but asks "how this squares" with the view of 18th Century politician and philosopher Edmund Burke that MPs should "use their best judgement for the wellbeing of the United Kingdom as a whole".

Minister Lord Bridges says Parliament held debates on the Referendum Bill and therefore granting the people a vote "was a choice that the representatives of the people made".

Conservative peer Lord Hamilton of Epsom says that if Parliament followed Lord Harries' suggestion and failed to implement Brexit, Leave voters like him "would have no choice but to take to the streets and start breaking things".

Select Committee
Parliament

SNP Dr Philippa Whitford tells Jeremy Hunt there is "concern among people in the profession" about their future status in the UK. 

Mr Hunt says it is one of the Department of Health's priorities to "secure" the rights of NHS staff from EU countries and there is "nothing temporary" about this pledge.

House of Lords
Parliament

Former Labour leader Lord Kinnock says a speech by the prime minister "does not constitute a coherent Brexit plan".

He urges the government to "heed and implement the unanimous recommendation" of the Commons Brexit committee, which called for a policy document or white paper.

House of Lords
Parliament

Conservative peer Lord Lang of Monkton, the chair of the Lords Constitution Committee and a former Scottish secretary, praises ministers for "winning the unanimous rejection" of a requirement for a vote in the Scottish Parliament.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said it is "matter of democratic principle" that the Socttish Parliament has a say.

However, Lord Lang sees it as an attempt by the Scottish government "to extend its powers".

Select Committee
Parliament

Former Labour home secretary David Blunkett urged peers not to place themselves "in confrontation with the British people" by trying to block the Article 50 bill.

He said they were facing an "extraordinary delicate situation" in the way voters see politicians and the establishment.

Brexit minister Lord Bridges of Headley welcomed Lord Blunkett's "extremely wise words", adding: "And I concur with you absolutely - this government is intent on delivering the outcome of the referendum and we will see that through."

House of Lords
Parliament

Labour former leader Neil Kinnock argues that Theresa May's recent speech was "full of aims and intentions" but "does not constitute a coherent Brexit plan".

He echoed calls from both Houses for the government to publish a White Paper, saying it should detail its "negotiating priorities and specify how a free trade agreement can be fulfilled".

Brexit minister Lord Bridges of Headley stressed that the UK is approaching the negotiations "from a unique position" as a member of the EU for over 40 years.

He said an agreement was in the interests of the UK and EU and emphasised that the prime minister had set out in her lengthy speech that she wanted the freest access possible.

House of Lords
Parliament

Lord Bridges says Prime Minister Theresa May has set out in the government's aims and objectives "in some depth and detail".

But he adds that it is right "not to give away anything that could be in the national interest when it comes to the negotiations".

Select Committee
Parliament

Jeremy Hunt, when asked by Conservative MP Helen Whately about staff shortages in the care sector, says that "career structures" need to be created.

Mr Hunt says this would encourage people to work in the care sector, particularly in low-skilled jobs.

House of Lords
Parliament

Lord Newby, the Liberal Democrat leader in the Lords, says today's ruling means "a private citizen can require the government, against its will, to play by the rules".

Investment manager Gina Miller was one of the campaigners who brought the case against the government.

The Lib Dems want a referendum on any final Brexit deal, he says, claiming that Leave voters "did not vote for a particular version of Brexit" and a majority did not vote to leave the single market.

House of Lords
Parliament

Exiting the EU Minister Lord Bridges of Headley repeats today's Commons statement to peers, which follows the earlier Supreme Court ruling that Parliament must vote on whether the government can start the Brexit process.

Shadow minister Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town thanks "the Supreme Court judges for doing their constitutional job".

The government's failure "to make the referendum binding" led to the current uncertainty, she argues.

"This House needs to examine the government's exit plan," she insists.

Speaking in the Commons earlier, Brexit Secretary David Davis says that a Supreme Court judgement against the government will not derail plans to begin the process of leaving the EU before the end of March.

Select Committee
Parliament

Labour MP Rosie Cooper asks the health secretary what plans are in place to ensure continuity in health and social care after Article 50 is triggered. 

Jeremy Hunt says there is "comprehensive contingency planning" and tells the committee that Brexit won't mean the "end of trade" in this sector, and the UK would fall back on World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.

You can read more about WTO rules here.

Select Committee
Parliament

Dr Sarah Wollaston asks the health secretary what his level of involvement will be in the forthcoming negotiations.

Jeremy Hunt says his level of involvement will be "extremely high" and says he will "have a major contribution" to Britain's negotiating position.

Select Committee
Parliament

When asked for his views on a second EU referendum, Jeremy Hunt says it would be a "huge mistake" and create huge great levels of uncertainty.

Select Committee
Parliament

Former shadow health secretary Heidi Alexander asks about the risks to the health social care system as a result of the referendum on 23 June.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt tells her the biggest risk is to the "morale and motivation of the brilliant EU staff" who already work in the NHS. 

"We would fall over without their help," he says. 

BBC News Channel

Kate Hoey, a prominent Leave campaigner and former Labour minister, says she is confident the Article 50 bill will not be jeopardised by any of the proposed amendments to it.

But Liberal Democrat Alistair Carmichael argued that before the process was concluded, the British people should have another chance to vote on it.

Ms Hoey countered that people "knew what they were voting for - they voted Leave or Remain", adding that they would be "absolutely shocked if they were asked to vote again".

But Mr Carmichael said Brexit was "a process, not a single event" and just as the people started it, they should be given the opportunity to cast their vote on the prime minister's final deal.

Image source, EPA

Gina Miller has become the figurehead of the legal fight to get Parliament to vote on whether the UK can start the process of leaving the EU - but who is she?

Ms Miller, 51, is an investment manager and philanthropist who was born in Guyana but was educated in Britain.

In an interview with Vogue in January, Ms Miller spoke of her early years in the UK, external after she and her brother moved to Eastbourne in East Sussex leaving their parents in Guyana.

She was sent first to Roedean School on the outskirts of Brighton at the age of 10, then to Moira House Girls' School, in Eastbourne, East Sussex.

She recalls working in local hotels as "a chambermaid or clearing up in the restaurant" while her brother did paper rounds and washed up in kitchens because their parents were not allowed to send money to the UK.

Read more

The Supreme Court has dismissed the government's appeal in a landmark case about Brexit, meaning Parliament will be required to give its approval before official talks on leaving the EU can begin.

The ruling is a significant, although not totally unexpected, setback for Theresa May.

What will the prime minister do next and what impact will the ruling have on the process of leaving the EU, following last year's referendum vote?

What did the court say?

The highest court in the UK has dismissed the government's argument that it has the power to begin official Brexit negotiations with the rest of the EU without Parliament's prior agreement.

By a margin of eight to three, the 11 justices upheld November's High Court ruling which stated that it would be unlawful for the government to rely on executive powers known as the royal prerogative to implement the outcome of last year's referendum.

But it said the precise form the legislation should take was "entirely a matter for Parliament".

Read more