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Conservative Keith Simpson, who said on Tuesday he would not stand at the next general election because of his age, believes Number 10 has handed Labour an advantage by sacking the rebels.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

The former Conservative Party leader Lord Howard has said it is with a "heavy heart" that he supports the PM's decision to throw out the 21 rebels.

"At this general election, when it comes, everyone has to know with total clarity that if they vote Conservative and if a Conservative government is elected, we will leave the European Union," he said.

He described the "arrogance" of the majority of MPs in the current House of Commons.

"Not only do they think they know better, they are not prepared to let the British people have their say in an election," he said.

"An election would give the people the opportunity to decide whether they back the prime minister and his strategy, or whether they don't."

Conservative MPs are lamenting the loss of some of their colleagues who are being thrown out of the party for rebelling.

Ruth Davidson, who resigned last week as leader of the Scottish Conservatives after eight years, said she could not understand why Nicholas Soames, the grandson of Winston Churchill, should be out.

Sir Nicholas said he would end his parliamentary career if a snap general election was held.

His decision to rebel was not taken "lightly", but he felt strongly about avoiding a no deal.

"The fact is I'm satisfied that [the prime minister] himself wants a deal, but the deal he wants is not available," he added.

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BBC Radio 4

Sir Keir Starmer says Boris Johnson was "destroying" his own party by deselecting 21 Tory rebels.

Labour's shadow Brexit secretary said: "To be honest, removing the whip from well-regarded Tory MPs that have served their party for years amounts to Johnson and Cummings destroying their own party."

The shadow cabinet member dismissed suggestions he could lead a government if opposition parties asked him to bypass Jeremy Corbyn in an attempt to co-ordinate a majority.

The MP for Holborn and St Pancras said Labour would continue to push for a referendum on any Brexit deal which would include the "option to remain".

"I don't think we can break the impasse now without going back to the public to say: 'Do we have your position to leave on these terms, or would you rather remain?"' he said.

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BBC Radio 4

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Labour's Sir Keir Starmer said his party would not vote to approve Boris Johnson's motion - being tabled today - to hold a general election.

"Having got control from Boris Johnson last night, we're not going to hand it back to him in what is very obviously a trap," he said.

Mr Johnson should have put his proposal for Brexit to a vote in Parliament, rather than attempting to suspend the House to avoid scrutiny, Sir Keir said.

He said the bill to be voted on today, which he supports, was a "carefully crafted plan" to delay Brexit.

Sir Keir said part of the problem with Mr Johnson calling an election for 15 October was that MPs did not trust him to move the election to after the Brexit deadline, thereby forcing through a no-deal exit.

"We're not shy of a general election but we're not going to be taken in by what Boris Johnson says, because we do not trust him," he said.

Earlier we heard that former cabinet minister Rory Stewart, who voted against the government last night, was sacked from the Conservative Party by text message.

Extraordinarily, he received the text just as he was going on stage to collect an award as one of GQ magazine's men of the year.

He told the lively audience: "I'm very proud to take the award as politician of the year on the evening of which I cease to be a politician."

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BBC Radio 4

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The leader of the Liberal Democrats has said she is "very hopeful" that more Conservative and Labour MPs will leave their parties in favour of hers.

Jo Swinson said she has had conversations with many Conservative and Labour MPs who have been "very unhappy" in their parties "for some time".

"There's a lot of MPs who are looking to see where the sense in British politics can come from," she said.

"That is with the Liberal Democrats."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson lost his working majority in the Commons last night when Bracknell MP Dr Phillip Lee left the party to join the Lib Dems.

Ms Swinson - an advocate of a people's vote to stop Brexit - said there was "no quick way" to do Brexit - even with a no-deal exit in October, she said, there would be "years and years" of talks to secure trade deals and agreements.

Katya Adler
Europe Editor

The first words of a Le Monde article - "another crazy day in Brexit-land".

This morning the EU is really trying to take in what happened last night, and what it means for them.

What the EU has said all along is that you can't ban no deal. The only way to avoid a no-deal Brexit, it says, is to make a deal with the EU, or to decide to stay in the bloc,

EU leaders individually - and, yesterday, the European Commission - have been very clear that they take issue with the prime minister's statement that so far, renegotiations are going swimmingly.

The EU says there are no concrete proposals on the table to replace the controversial backstop plan for the Irish border, for example.

EU diplomats who I've spoken to, who have heard Boris Johnson say he is going to go to Brussels and get a deal at the summit in October, put in a reminder.

They said: "Remember what we said to your predecessor, Theresa May. We do not directly negotiate with the UK at the summit -negotiations have to happen with the European Commission."

So the idea of a deal being made suddenly at that summit is something that the EU dismisses.

That said, the PM's main EU envoy David Frost is coming to Brussels this morning, and the EU will listen to what he has to say.

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BBC Radio 4

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Business minister Kwasi Kwarteng has defended Boris Johnson's call for a general election after he claimed he did not want to go to the polls.

Mr Kwarteng said Parliament has "frustrated" the Brexit process "at every turn", adding: "This current House of Commons cannot decide, it cannot make a positive step on the Brexit issue."

"The prime minister is quite right to suggest that a general election, a new Parliament, is the best way to deliver," he added.

A group of 17 Labour MPs wants to make an amendment to the Brexit delay bill to force the publication of the draft Brexit deal produced after weeks of talks between the Tories and Labour under former prime minister Theresa May.

Mrs May's deal was defeated in the Commons three times - but the group argues the latest version of the draft deal offers a compromise that MPs have not yet voted on.

"These amendments allow colleagues to rally around the opportunity to push forward with cross-party agreement," the MPs said.

One of them, Aberavon Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, told the Today programme: "Let's present to Boris Johnson a clear binary choice - if you want to leave with a deal, the withdrawal agreement bill is the only game in town."

"Labour doesn't have a problem with the backstop. We blocked previous deals because they weren't clear enough on the future relationship," he added.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Former International Development Secretary Rory Stewart has told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he was informed by text message last night that he had lost the Conservative whip.

The one-time cabinet minister had the whip withdrawn after voting against the government.

"This is not a Conservative way of behaving," he said.

Mr Stewart said the decision to deselect MPs should not be made by the parliamentary party.

"This really should be a choice for local Conservative associations," he said.

Mr Stewart said the threat of deselection has been "terrible" for him and his colleagues - and that he still wanted to stand as a Conservative MP despite being told he had been deselected.

1) PM suffered a huge Brexit blow - MPs hoping to prevent the UK leaving the EU without a deal on 31 October have taken control of House of Commons business. This means they can introduce a bill that would force Boris Johnson to ask to delay Brexit until at least 31 January 2020, rather than take the country out without a deal.

2) The government lost its working majority - Within moments of Mr Johnson beginning to speak in the Commons, ex-justice minister Phillip Lee crossed the floor to join the Liberal Democrats. In doing so, the government's paper-thin majority became non-existent.

3) Ex-chancellor lets rip - Philip Hammond gave a passionate promise to start "the fight of a lifetime" if he was deselected as a result of defying the Tory Party whip in the crucial vote

4) Courtroom revelations - Scotland's highest civil court was told Mr Johnson appeared to have approved the controversial plan to prorogue Parliament two weeks before publicly announcing it

5) More Tories call it quits - several Conservative MPs announced they would step down at the next general election - however soon it may be - including Justine Greening, Keith Simpson and Alistair Burt

Read more here.

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he doesn't want a general election.

But reacting to his defeat in the Commons last night, the PM said the MPs' bill would "hand control" of Brexit negotiations to the EU and bring "more dither, more delay, more confusion".

He told MPs he had no choice but to press ahead with efforts to call an October election, adding: "The people of this country will have to choose."

Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, a prime minister cannot call an election at a time of their choosing. They must have the backing of at least two-thirds of MPs.

In other words, at least 434 MPs would have to give the green light to an early election.

The actual date of the election is in the prime minister's hands.

Image source, Getty Images

If you're just waking up, there's lots to catch up on.

MPs are reacting to last night's Brexit drama, which saw Prime Minister Boris Johnson lose control of Commons business after a rebellion by members of his party.

The Commons voted 328 to 301 to take control of the order paper, meaning MPs can bring a bill which could delay Brexit.

Downing Street said the 21 Tories who rebelled yesterday will have the whip removed, effectively expelling them from the parliamentary party and meaning they could not stand as Conservative candidates at the general election - which may be sooner rather than later.

MPs will vote on the Brexit delay bill today. If it passes, a vote on whether to hold an election will follow.

So make yourself a coffee, check the weather forecast, and stick with us for all the latest updates and developments.

Image source, Getty Images

Away from Brexit, Chancellor Sajid Javid is due to set out today what the government is going to spend money on in the next financial year.

Social care and prisons are the government services most in need of extra money, the think tank Institute for Government has said - but it believes Mr Javid is likely to favour vote-winning measures ahead of a "potentially imminent" election.

Mr Javid has promised to prioritise spending on schools, police and health.

Ministerial sources have said the announcement is intended to provide certainty ahead of Brexit.

Separately, Mr Javid is to announce a further £2bn in Brexit funding, taking the total spent on government preparations to £8.3bn.

Read more here.