House of Commons
Parliament

Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Tom Brake says he has spoken to residents of South Armagh who "had no solution to the question of the Ireland-Northern Ireland border, and neither has anyone else I've met since".

David Davis insists there are a "whole range of options" for a future border, including notification schemes for those crossing and exemptions for small businesses.

Conservative Crispin Blunt thinks the Republic of Ireland has succeeded in persuading the other EU member states "to line up" behind its vision of keeping Northern Ireland in the customs union.

This has "placed the talks in an impossible position", Mr Blunt argues.

Mr Davis says that, if talks do not progress to trade and a future relationship, it will be "much more difficult to resolve the border issue" - but he claims "we still will".

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative MP Dominic Grieve voices concern about the government's amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill, to formally commit to Brexit at 23:00 GMT on Friday 29 March 2019.

The former attorney general argues that, if the Brexit talks "run out of time... the time has to be extended under Article 50".

Brexit Secretary David Davis responds that an extension to the two-year Article 50 process "can only be done by unanimity" among EU member states.

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative MP Anna Soubry says that the government has proposed an amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill "to put in law the Brexit leaving date" in 2019.

She asks if this means that, in the event of no deal with the EU, the UK will leave "without any say from this supposedly sovereign Parliament which voted to take back control".

David Davis says that if there is no withdrawal agreement there cannot be a bill in Parliament.

Labour's Chris Leslie says this confirms Ms Davis is making a "sham offer".

Westminster Hall

Image source, HoC

It's a packed Westminster Hall for this afternoon's debate with seemingly every Scottish MP in attendance.

Introducing the debate SNP MP Martyn Day says that "circumstances change" and people have the "democratic right" to revisit any policy decision. He adds, to laughter from some of the anti-independence MPs in the room, that his party never intended for there to be a retread of the referendum until the UK's vote for Brexit.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Labour's Yvette Cooper tells MPs there's a "real problem" if the government believes it can provisionally implement the withdrawal agreement using Clause 9 of the EU Withdrawal Bill before it brings in dedicated legislation.

David Davis replies that the "principal policy aim" is to introduce the withdrawal agreement bill before Brexit day.

House of Commons
Parliament

The Brexit-supporting Labour MP Kate Hoey says the Exiting the EU Committee took evidence from officials from Switzerland, a non-EU country which shares borders with EU member states.

"There is nothing that cannot make this work if there is full co-operation on all sides," she insists.

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour chair of the Brexit Committee Hilary Benn claims there is a contradiction between the government's commitment to "no hard border" in Northern Ireland and its determination to leave the customs union.

David Davis responds that if the UK secures the kind of free trade agreement it wants there should be "a light-touch customs agreement" and the alternatives are "expensive but not impossible".

House of Commons
Parliament

SNP Europe spokesman Peter Grant says that Northern Ireland will have to remain in the customs union, to noises of loud disagreement from the Conservative benches.

Mr Grant also asks whether the Budget next week will contain any announcements "in order to pave the way for a financial settlement" - or will it be missing because the government knows it would not "get that past its own backbenchers"?

He adds that Theresa May is "only eight disgruntled Conservatives away from facing a vote of no confidence".

Addressing the first point, David Davis insists that "there will be no internal border within the United Kingdom".

On the second, he says Mr Grant is "optimistic if he thinks the chancellor gives us advance warning of more than a week" about his Budget.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HofC

Pro-EU Conservative veteran Ken Clarke asks David Davis to make it clear that there will be "a legally-binding" vote on a withdrawal deal.

"We'll have legislation which puts it into effect," Mr Davis insists, adding that MPs will be able to go through it "line by line".

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer laments a "profound lack of progress", and asks what the plan is if the December deadline is missed.

He warns against "rushing to a Brexit deal that does not have the support of all communities" in Northern Ireland.

He says David Davis' announcement of separate legislation on the withdrawal agreement demonstrates a "recognition that it's about to lose votes on the EU Withdrawal Bill".

He asks that the government "not now bring amendments incompatible with transition agreements".

Westminster Hall

Image source, Reuters

Meanwhile, in Westminster Hall, there's a debate on Scottish independence, triggered by a pair of e-petitions submitted to Parliament. The first petition, external, which has more than 220,000 signatures, calls on the government to refuse any requests for a second independence referendum. The second petition being discussed, external calls for another referendum - because of Brexit.

The first Scottish independence referendum was held in September 2014 and was won by 55% to 45% by the "no" campaign. A year afterwards the pro-independence SNP swept up almost all of Scotland's seats in the House of Commons, but the party has suffered electoral losses since then, losing its majority at Holyrood in 2016 and being reduced to 35 seats in the House of Commons in the June general election.

On the morning after the UK vote to leave the European Union in June 2016 Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that a new referendum was "highly likely" but by summer 2017 was promising a "reset" of her government and conceding that a new vote wouldn't be held until after Brexit.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HofC

Brexit Secretary David Davis insists that "the United Kingdom's offer goes beyond that of the European Union" in one of main outstanding areas: citizens' rights.

He says the government is"seeking further movement" from the EU on voting rights for citizens, including standing in local elections, and will "pursue this issue bilaterally with member states".

He says the government will bring forward a "Withdrawal Agreement and Implementation Bill" giving Parliament a final vote on any withdrawal deal.

This bill will be in addition to the EU Withdrawal Bill, which the Commons will debate this week.

House of Commons
Parliament

The Brexit Secretary David Davis makes a statement to MPs on the latest Brexit talks, saying "discussions are now narrowing to a few outstanding, albeit important, issues that remain".

They are the so-called "divorce bill" - how much the UK will pay the EU to address its budget shortfall as a result of Brexit - citizens' rights and the Irish border.

Mr Davis says the government is committed to "north-south co-operation" in Ireland and against a hard border - but adds that any solution cannot affect the "integrity of the United Kingdom".

House of Commons
Parliament

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, who has relatives of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe among her constituents, asks Boris Johnson to respond to reports that Richard Ratcliffe has asked to accompany the foreign secretary on his visit to Iran.

Mr Johnson says he will discuss the matter with Mr Ratcliffe when they meet later this week.

House of Commons
Parliament

Asked by the SNP's Brendan O'Hara about comments made by the environment secretary on the Andrew Marr show, Boris Johnson says Michael Gove "made it very clear he believed she was there on holiday - he was happy to accept that".

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour MP Paul Flynn says of Boris Johnson: "His brand of clownish incompetence is a joke that's no longer funny."

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative MP Matthew Offord attacks Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, alleging he was "paid to appear" on Iran's Press TV and did not criticise Iran's human rights record when he did so.

Boris Johnson says he is "going to resist agreeing with my honourable friend" about Mr Corbyn.

Mr Johnson adds that the aim is "not to score party political points - it is to get Nazanin released".

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Conservative Jacob Rees-Mogg observes that while the treatment of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is brutal it has been "given succour by the socialists opposite".

The foreign secretary responds that he "prefers to think they're actuated solely by concern for all our consular cases in Iran".

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour MP Ben Bradshaw asks whether the foreign secretary met Joseph Mifsud who is "at the centre of the Trump-Putin collusion allegations".

However, Speaker John Bercow intervenes to say that the question "is not even adjacent" to the topic of the urgent question.