House of Commons
Parliament

Shadow leader of the House Valerie Vaz notes that Theresa May announced that a white paper on Brexit would be published while answering questions at PMQs.

Will all future policy U-turns be announced at Prime Minister's questions? she asks.

She also asks if the white paper will be published before the committee stage.

David Lidington suggests that the Opposition should welcome the fact that the announcement was made at a time when the chamber and press gallery were packed.

House of Commons
Parliament

Leader of the House David Lidington begins the business statement and announces that the second reading of the European Union Notification of Withdrawal Bill will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.

The committee stage will begin on 6 February and will be completed on 8 February.

BBC Radio 5 live

Image source, Conservative Party

Conservative MP and former army officer Bob Stewart has weighed into the debate over Donald Trump's comments about the use of torture by saying that "sometimes" it is justified.

“Sometimes it might work, and sometimes it might be justified," he told Emma Barnett on BBC 5live Daily.

He also said that, based on modern definitions, he himself was "technically.... a kind of torturer" in Northern Ireland in the 1970s.

BBC News Channel

Pressure is growing in Westminster for Theresa May to "front up to" Donald Trump about his remarks about the use of torture when the pair meet on Friday, BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith has said.

A number of MPs have said the US president's comments are "unacceptable" not just for ethical but legal reasons.

Norman says he was told by a member of the Commons intelligence and security comittee that if Mr Trump allows US intelligence services to use torture, British spies will not be able to take advantage of information gleaned by US spies because torture is prohibited in the UK, which in turn could compromise Britain's ability to fight terror.

Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson have both gone out of their way to reassure MPs about the government's stance on torture.

Norman says he cannot imagine a UK-US post Brexit trade deal being very high up on Mr Trump's agenda.

He says the language Mrs May is poised to use about how Britain and America have sought to renew themselves with self confidence, suggests the advantages and the reason for this visit "all come from the British end".

There will be some MPs who are "slightly uneasy" to align the UK, not just with America but the Trump administration, he says. 

House of Commons
Parliament

A quick recap from Brexit questions in the Commons earlier. 

David Davis brushed aside calls for the government to commit to publish its formal Brexit plan within days and ahead of crucial Commons votes. 

Labour warned ministers against offering a "cut and paste" of Theresa May's Lancaster House speech, in which she outlined her 12-point plan for Brexit, in its promised white paper.

Brexit Secretary Mr Davis said the document will be produced "as quickly as possible", adding Mrs May has answered all the questions posed other than those which would undermine Britain's negotiating position.

Several MPs wanted clarity on when the government will produce its white paper -  with Labour and the SNP suggesting it should appear before committee stage of the Brexit bill - formally entitled the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill.

This legislation paves the way for the prime minister to start the formal process of Britain's withdrawal from the EU by allowing the triggering of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. 

House of Commons
Parliament

Brexit Secretary David Davis claims the Spanish secretary of state for foreign affairs has widely welcomed Theresa May's recent Brexit speech, saying that "we had an eminently achievable aim in everybody's interests".

Select Committee
Parliament

Lord Reid, a former home secretary, asks about Britain's role in the Middle East and the recent behaviour of Russia. 

Mr Johnson says Russian behaviour has, in many ways, been "reprehensible", but we are not in a "new Cold War". 

The foreign secretary says the UK must be "vigilant" in the way we deal with Russia, but says it is "not a bad thing" if Russia makes progress in its relations with Syria. 

"We can't push Russia away and demonise them," he adds.

House of Commons
Parliament

The questioning turns to guaranteeing the rights of EU nationals to stay in the UK.

Conservative Simon Burns asks which countries are holding up a reciprocal deal from being struck.

David Davis admits that he is "not sure what the actual problems are".

He says that some member states have taken "a very stern stance" on "no negotiation before notification" of Article 50.

Labour's Wes Streeting urges the government to guarantee the rights of EU nationals to stay in the UK without waiting for the EU to do the same for UK nationals living in the EU. 

It would create a lot of goodwill, he says.

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's Luciana Berger claimed leaving the EU will mean the European Medicines Agency sending Britain "to the back of the queue for innovative new drugs".

Brexit Secretary David Davis replied that this was not what the health secretary said.

He said the government would put the clinical safety of the British people "at the front of the queue", along with the interests of British industry and life sciences "that we're a world leader and we will remain one after we leave".

House of Commons
Parliament

UKIP MP Douglas Carswell says EU directives have a "harmful" effect on clinical trials.

He asks if, when the UK draws up its own regulations, the government will "listen to scientists, not just big corporate interests".

"Absolutely," says Mr David adding that the original clinical trial directive was "a very poorly drafted piece of legislation".

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's Toby Perkins says it would be "catastrophic" for UK manufacturers if they had to pay tariffs that their competitors in Germany and France did not.

Conservative Michael Fabricant counters that Nissan and Jaguar Rover are "already planning" how their export market might change if the UK has free trade with India, China and US.

"It is an opportunity not a disadvantage," he says.

Minister David Jones agrees. "There is a world out there and we should be seizing the opportunity," he says.

House of Commons
Parliament

The DUP's Danny Kinahan seeks reassurance that the government will achieve reciprocal processes for staff and students with Ireland who move across the border.

Brexit Minister Robin Walker says the government is absolutely committed to the common travel area with Ireland - "it is absolutely vital".

House of Commons
Parliament

Quitting the European Union will allow Britain to be "a free country again", Brexit Secretary David Davis has insisted.

Following the introduction of the Article 50 Bill, there will be a Great Repeal Bill that will ensure all EU laws can be converted into EU law, including workers' rights and environmental regulation, he said.

"Those are just the beginning," he said. "Exiting the EU will give this Parliament back control of its own laws - full stop - , so diecisions on policy will be taken here, not the European Union. So we'll go back to being a free country again."

Select Committee
Parliament

Conservative peer Lord Hannay asks Boris Johnson to comment on the overnight news from Washington and what he calls Donald Trump's "fundamental disregard" for United States international obligations.

Mr Johnson says we have to be "very careful" with this, and says there are no concrete policy changes, yet.

"On the matter of torture" he tells peers that the Prime Minister Theresa May has made the "unchanged" position of the government clear.

House of Commons
Parliament

The British government's stance on torture is very plain, "we don't condone it, we don't agree with it under any circumstances whatsoever", Brexit Secretary David Davis has told the House of Commons.

He was responding to Labour's Chi Onwurah, who spoke out against US President Donald Trump, who suggested that the use of torture against terrorists is under consideration.

Ms Onwurah said Prime Minister Theresa May is meeting "a president who champions torture and who is proud to discriminate against muslims".

She said it was important the government sends "a moral message" that "goods and chattels are bargaining chips, human beings are not".

House of Commons
Parliament

Prominent Leave campaigner Jacob Rees-Mogg says selling into the single market is "preferable" to being a member of it "as it's a highly regulatory, bureaucratic mechanism that 87% of British businesses, the British economy is not reliant on".

Cabinet Office Minister Chris Skidmore commented that the best market access to the single market for UK businesses and for European businesses to the UK market "will be in all our interests".

House of Commons
Parliament

The SNP's Brexit spokesman Stephen Gethins asks if MPs should be able to see the white paper before they consider Article 50 legislation.

He asks for a commitment that the white paper is published before the committee stage of the debate.

David Davis tries to assure the MP that he will be as "expeditious" as possible.