House of Commons
Parliament

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Conservative MP Nicky Morgan has told Brexit Secretary David Davis that Tory MPs who support an amendment requiring a final Brexit deal to be approved by Parliament are "deadly serious".

She says the government should accept amendment 7 to the EU Withdrawal Bill, which is in the name of the former attorney general Dominic Grieve.

David Davis told MPs he won't pre-empt the discussion on the bill but those reports [that the rebel Tory MPs are not being taken seriously] are not true.

Mr Davis was answering an urgent question in the Commons about when Parliament might vote on a deal with the EU.

That's where we leave our coverage of Parliament for tonight.

The House of Lords is sitting on Friday morning, and you can follow events here, external and on BBC Parliament.

Don't forget, Today in Parliament will be covering Parliamentary proceedings at 11.30pm on Radio 4.

We'll be back on Monday for more live blog coverage.

House of Lords
Parliament

Environment Minister Lord Gardiner of Kimble winds up for the government, speaking of their "bold ambition to be first generation to leave environment better condition than that in which we found it".

He highlights the government's clean air zone framework, £1m for the infrastructure of ultra-low emission zones and action to tackle the use of microplastics.

"Per capita we have reduced emissions faster than any other G7 nation," he stresses.

House of Lords
Parliament

Labour spokesperson Baroness Jones of Whitchurch tells peers it's now clear that air pollution is a "huge public health scandal", affecting asthma and children's lung function.

She claims the only people this isn't ringing alarm bells for is the government.

The issue "needs national leadership now", she urges, before accusing ministers of "passing this responsibility down to local authorities".

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs are now listening to today's adjournment debate, on improvements to Junction 10 of the A3.

MPs return to the chamber on Monday afternoon at 2:30pm for questions to ministers from the Department of Communities and Local Government.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Minister Nick Gibb is winding up the debate, which he says has been "excellent".

He says the UK has "one of the strongest legal frameworks in the world for LGBT people".

He reminds the House that 72 countries around the world ban homosexuality and eight retain the death penalty for it. He says the government "remains committed to working with right-minded countries" to stand up for LGBT rights around the world.

House of Commons
Parliament

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The SNP's Joanna Cherry says the UK is "one of the few countries in Europe" that detains LGBT people who have come to the country as refugees.

She says many detainees have homophobic experiences in detention and find that staff are ill equipped to work with LGBT people.

She says that if the UK wants to promote itself as supportive of LGBT rights and criticise countries that aren't, "disgraceful" treatment of LGBT refugees must end.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Labour's Lloyd Russell-Moyle is the latest speaker in the debate to mention how many anti-gay laws still on the statute books in Commonwealth countries are a legacy of British imperialism.

He says former British colonies are more likely to criminalise homosexual acts, saying that 57% of countries around the world that ban homosexuality are former British colonies.

He says it is "our duty, because we were the ones who imposed these laws, to speak up".

House of Lords
Parliament

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Lib Dem Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer is opening her debate on the impact of air and water pollution on the environment and public health.

She says we already know these are "killers" but asks how far the government is going to go to tackle them.

She welcomes the move to ban microplastics but points to the need for action on nanomaterials which gather in water and can damage aquatic life.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Labour's Gerard Killen says it's "not enough" for countries to decriminalise homosexuality, there must also be laws to protect gay people.

He also says that the UK must ensure its own house is in order, pointing out that if he takes a plane from Glasgow and lands in Belfast, his own marriage is no longer recognised.

It's a "short journey, but what a change in rights," he observes.

Northern Ireland doesn't recognise gay marriages, only civil partnerships.

He goes on to read out a series of comments from DUP politicians which he believes show "shocking" attitudes.

He says the prime minister's words are not enough because "this is the company she is keeping in government".

The DUP have signed a confidence-and-supply agreement to keep the Conservative Party in government.

House of Lords
Parliament

International Development Minister Lord Bates responds to the debate for the government, condemning violence against the Rohingya as "appalling".

Access to the area remains "constrained", he says, noting that the UN has voted to extend its fact-finding mission.

He tells peers the UK wants the international community to be aware of the need for humanitarian assistance.

He says Aung San Suu Kyi "has begun to show more leadership" and "we stand ready to support her".

House of Lords
Parliament

Labour spokesman Lord Collins of Highbury calls for more access to Myanmar, particularly for the UN Human Rights Council fact-finding mission.

He asks what the government will do next and specifically if it will support UN-mandated sanctions.

"We are witnessing ethnic cleansing and we need to say so loud and clear," he declares.

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs are now debating LGBT rights around the world. Introducing the debate Conservative Nick Herbert talks about the strides made towards equality across the industrialised nations. He says that "only Japan" of the G7 industrialised nations does not now recognise gay marriage.

He also raises some countries where LGBT people are threatened. He talks about mass arrests of gay men and transgender women in Azerbaijan, external and a crackdown in Egypt where 34 people were arrested after a concert where a rainbow flag was flown, external. He says the UK must make it clear that actions like this are "unacceptable in the eyes of the global community".

He says some have accused the UK of "neocolonialism" by forcing other countries to follow its cultural values. He says that Britain in fact has an obligation to "atone" for anti-gay laws which in many Commonwealth countries are a "legacy of Britain's colonial past".

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House of Lords
Parliament

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Conservative Baroness Helic, former adviser to William Hague as foreign secretary, is opening her debate on supporting the Rohingya refugees currently displaced in Bangladesh.

She tells peers: "I was born in a country where in the space of a weekend 8,500 men and boys were slaughtered in Srebenica in 1995.

"The term ethnic cleansing was born in Bosnia."

"It is hard to argue that what is happening in Myanmar is anything but that," she adds, and it "demands decisive action".

She calls for full humanitarian access to Rakhine and the right to return for refugees.

House of Lords
Parliament

Government spokesman Lord Young of Cookham says he's glad that in today's debate the temptation to pit one generation against another "has been resisted and this not a zero-sum game".

He says that in some ways the younger generations' future is "brighter" as they are "healthier with far greater access to higher education".

But he acknowledges they do face difficulties, and highlights the government's efforts to improve the situation of renters and students.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Home Office minister Sarah Newton says the government is always looking at ways to improve the support given to victims of modern slavery.

She says it is "vital" that victims get access to support "immediately". She says adult victims will be allowed a place of safety for at least three days after being rescued followed by, if they choose, at least 90 days of further support.

There will also be weekly drop in centres for victims after their support period ends, she says.

On child victims, she says they're testing "new and innovative" was of helping them, including specialist accommodation.

She ends by emphasising that the government is "totally dedicated to preventing this global trade in human misery".

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour shadow women and equalities minister Carolyn Harris says the Modern Slavery Act risks becoming less effective because of a lack of follow up legislation.

She raises a recent report on the police response to trafficking, external, which found variable levels of commitment to tackling slavery in police forces, as well as a belief in many places that offences are rare and not an issue in their specific area. Carolyn Harris says there is a "real need to improve training for police".

"No-one is safe" from exploitation she says, "worst of all children".

She criticises the lack of specialist support or accommodation for children rescued from modern slavery. This is another example of the legislation going "stale", and where it might be updated "as a matter of urgency", she says.

Select Committee
Parliament

We did hear evidence that suggested that it would be possible the agreement that was reached could be "struck down" by the European courts, says Hilary Benn, in his final question.

"Do you recognise that and are you prepared for that eventuality if it should transpire?" he asks the minister.

"These are matters that of course we consider through the process," says Steve Baker.

On that point, the committee's evidence session concludes.

House of Lords
Parliament

Labour spokesman Lord Hunt of Kings Heath winds up on the debate for the opposition, observing that he thinks that a "rebuke" should be offered to Lord Willetts.

Conservative ex-minister Lord Willetts earlier argued that student loans are not viewed by mortgage lenders in the same way as other types of debt.

"Debt is a psychological barrier," insists Lord Hunt, saying it does put young people off university or from financial commitments after graduating.