The Liberal Democrat opposition group on Surrey County Council has called for clarity over the "precise details" of what the government may have offered the council in advance of its decision to abandon plans to hold a referendum.

Councillor Hazel Watson, who represents Dorking Hills, says the "culture of secrecy" that prevails in the council needs to be lifted. 

Select Committee
Parliament

Conservative MP Anne-Marie Morris asks how the CDC deals with countries whose "business models" are susceptible to corruption.

"We take inordinate efforts to make sure that we work with the right people," says Chief Executive Diana Noble.

She adds that the organisation "tries to avoid sectors which have a particularly propensity for corruption: ones with high levels of government tendering and things like that".

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour Mike Gapes also speaks to the amendments concerning Gibraltar.

He tells MPs that Brexit will affect Gibraltar, particularly the 10,000-14,000 people who live in southern Spain but have to cross the border to work in Gibraltar.

He says Gibraltar should be included on the face of the bill.

He also takes a moment to critcise the timetable of the debate describing it as "a disgrace and a stitch up".

Former Labour leader John Smith would not have approved such a timetable, he says.

House of Lords
Parliament

Lib Dem Lord Roberts of Llandudno has the first question of the day. He wants to know if the prime minister and home secretary will visit refugee camps.

International Development Minister Lord Bates says it's "not appropriate" to comment on future visits to be made by senior ministers, but says the government welcomes this question as an opportunity to remind the House that it has spent £1.4bn on humanitarian assistance in the past year.

Lord Roberts says the PM should visit a camp to "see for herself the situation" so that there is no "diminution of our pledge to welcome 20,000 refugees, and 3,000 youngsters in this parliament".

Labour's Lord Collins of Highbury says it would be more appropriate for the PM to spend her time writing an article for the Daily Mail to explain to its readers the benefits of international development aid. 

The paper has been a critic of the UK's 0.7% spending commitment on international aid.

The SNP urges the prime minister to not "carry on regardless" with Brexit as it calls for her to secure a UK-wide compromise.

Select Committee
Parliament

Committee chairwoman Meg Hillier queries a claim by CDC chief executive Diana Noble that the organisation has created a million jobs.

The Labour MP says it is a "big leap" from 25,000 directly created jobs to a million jobs. She wants to "make sure you're not double counting".

Ms Noble says jobs are created directly and indirectly but concedes that "it's clear that the indirect jobs are much greater and the direct jobs much smaller".

She gives an example of a hydropower project in eastern Congo, "that we think will generate 250 direct jobs but it's part of a plan to bring 40,000 new jobs to the region".

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, PAUL TYSON

Public Accounts Committee chair Meg Hillier notes that a Commonwealth Development Corporation Bill,, external currently in the House, which will make changes to the operations of the CDC.

The session moves on to plans for an airport on the British overseas territory of St Helena, which has been delayed over safety fears.

The £285m airport is being paid for by the Department for International Development and was due to open in May.

However, the National Audit Office said the delay - due to high winds on the remote island - could add to the cost.

House of Lords
Parliament

Business today in the Lords gets under way shortly, with questions. Ministers will be grilled on refugees, economic productivity, the International Criminal Court and vegetable shortages.

The main business of the day is a final day of considering amendments at committee stage to the Digital Economy Bill.

House of Commons
Parliament

Former minister Ed Vaizey addresses concerns about EU nationals, free trade and the issue of Euratom in his speech.

Euratom is a European programme for nuclear research and training aims to pursue nuclear research and training. It aims to promote nuclear safety, and carbon-free energy research.

The Conservative MP says he is concerned that exit from EU could damage British science; but he says that there is a danger in just seeking European collaboration. 

"There may be a silver lining to the withdrawal from Euratom," he says.

Summing up, he says: "I stand four square behind EU citizens living in our country; please keep don't banging on about how easy free trade is going to be, and please secure as far as possible nuclear relationships."

Image source, PA

Labour is calling on Communities Secretary Sajid Javid to make a statement to Parliament on Thursday about the Surrey County Council social care referendum row.

Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth has written to the prime minister urging her to publish details of all correspondence between council leader David Hodge and government officials so, in his words, to put beyond doubt talk of a sweetheart deal over funding and to "rule out any suggestion of wrongdoing".

In his letter, he also calls for details of a memorandum of understanding referred to by Jeremy Corbyn during PMQs - which was reportedly discussed in texts between Mr Hodge and a government adviser - to be disclosed.

He also wants information about meetings between council and government officials to be put into the public domain and for any conduct which could be a breach of the ministerial code to be investigated. 

Image source, Getty Images

A Labour spokesman has labelled claims that Jeremy Corbyn takes a lieu day off during the week whenever he has to do a TV interview on a Sunday as "completely preposterous".

Dismissing reports in Private Eye, external about the Labour leader's work-life balance, the spokesman said Mr Corbyn "works round the clock on an absolutely punishing schedule". 

Select Committee
Parliament

The Public Accounts Committee is beginning an evidence session on the CDC, the body formerly known as the Commonwealth Development Corporation.

The CDC is a government-owned development investment corporation, whose stated aim is to support businesses in Africa and South Asia.

MPs will hear from the organisation's chairman and chief executive, as well as civil servants from the Department for International Development.

House of Commons
Parliament

"The backing for a Yes vote in another independence referendum has risen to 49% on the back of the hard Brexit vow," says Joanna Cherry, referring to a survey by BMG for the Herald, external newspaper.

"The barracking of honourable members opposite and the prevention of SNP MPs from speaking in this House play right into our hands," she continues.

Conservative MP Mark Harper raises a point of order to challenge the suggestion that Ms Cherry was "prevented from speaking".

He is referring to an incident on Monday, which Mr Harper calls a "kerfuffle" and which involved a clash between the SNP's Alex Salmond and Deputy Speaker Lindsey Hoyle.

Deputy Speaker Eleanor Laing, on duty for today's debate, says she has checked the speaking times in the contentious debate, which was subject to a speaking limit. Of Ms Cherry, she says: "There was not a lot of time in which she could speak."

She adds: "In saying that she was prevented from speaking, I think the honourable lady is making a rhetorical point rather than an arithmetical point, because her contribution to the debate has been considerable."

UK farming ministers are criticised for an "apparent refusal to engage" with an assembly committee's Brexit inquiry.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, PA

SNP's Joanna Cherry speaks to two amendments tabled by her party, which deals with the situation of Gibraltar.

Amendment 54 states that Article 50 cannot be triggered until the chief minister of Gibraltar has given his consent to the process for withdrawal from the EU.

New clause 141 makes clear that the bill extends to "the whole of the UK and to Gibraltar".