House of Commons
Parliament

Earlier in the Commons, Conservative MP, Sir Bill Cash, suggested the anti-Semitic abuse of the Labour MPs Luciana Berger and Ruth Smeeth could be a contempt of Parliament.

The Speaker, John Bercow, said Sir Bill had done a "public service" by raising it - and suggested the MP should write to him so that he could investigate.

It's not clear what punishment could be used against someone found in contempt of the House.

The Commons library has a helpful briefing about surgical mesh which you can read here, external.

Mesh implants may be used in a number of surgical procedures to provide additional support when repairing weakened or damaged tissue.

Women have complained about implants causing agony by cutting into tissue.

Since 2008, 27,016 have had the implant - which is used to treat incontinence and prolapse - and 211 women have had it removed, data shows.

Two days ago, NHS Digital figures showed that 21 people had operations to remove vaginal mesh implants in 2016-17 - down from 30 the year before that and a peak of 42 in 2011-12.

In 2016-17 2,680 women were given the implants compared with a high of 3,413 in 2011-12.

Read more in the BBC News story here.

House of Lords
Parliament

Image source, HoL

Former chief of the defence staff Lord Stirrup says Britain's security is "inextricably linked with the rest of Europe, and no referendum can change that".

He calls for greater cooperation with the rest of Europe on security issues on an "enduring" because coming together at "times of crisis" is not enough.

On Russia, he says there is "much talk of a new cold war" but this is down to a "misreading of the situation".

He says the Soviet Union was an ideological project devoted to world revolution, while modern Russia is a "gangster regime that has plundered its own country for individual gain". He says that the aim must be a Russia that is a "responsible member of the wider international community".

House of Commons
Parliament

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Dr Sarah Wollaston, chair of the Health Committee, says that NHS Digital have published a review into the use of surgical mesh. She says that 100,516 women went through these procedures between 2008-2016.

She says many women affected by the procedure originally underwent the surgery privately, and then the NHS has to "bear the burden" of doing corrective surgery afterwards.

"Retrospective snapshots are no substitute for collecting the data as you go forward," she says. She tells MPs that "many women that I have met have developed complications far later" than timeframes examined by the NHS.

Transport minister Nusrat Ghani was embarrassed in the Commons after not realising a question was for her.

The Conservative MP for Wealden in East Sussex, had to be prompted to respond to Labour's transport spokesman's question.

She admitted suffering a "momentary lapse... I do apologise hugely, Mr Speaker".

Andy McDonald then rattled out the question again.

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Parliament

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Labour's Emma Hardy is introducing her debate on surgical mesh. She quotes messages from constituents who have had severe side effects from the surgical procedure.

She says that many women had the procedure done to them after giving birth, so many of the women affected are in their 30s.

She says that out of every 100 women who have had the procedure, 79 return for further outpatient appointments. In the last nine years, the procedure has fallen in recommendations from doctors by 40%, she adds.

She believes that, where possible, "mesh should be removed in full", as she says there have been cases where symptoms can come back if a mesh is only partially removed.

She ends her speech saying "mesh implants have affected thousands of people all over the country".

Laura Kuenssberg
BBC political editor

A powerful cross party group of MPs is to force a vote on a Customs Union next week in the House of Commons.

The Liaison Committee, made up of Labour, Conservative and SNP select committee chairs, has tabled a debate for next week calling for 'an effective Customs Union'.

Theresa May has pledged to leave the current Customs Union as we depart the EU. For many Brexiteers, trying to replicate the Customs Union after Brexit is unacceptable, as it would stop the UK being able to sign its own trade deals.

The Lords rejected Number Ten's plan overwhelmingly last night.

But the government had hoped to avoid a vote on the issue in the Commons until next month. But the MPs, including Yvette Cooper, Nicky Morgan, Sarah Wollaston, and Hilary Benn, have secured a debate that will force the issue next week.

The vote would not be binding on the government, but will ratchet up the pressure on Number Ten to shift its position if the Commons agrees.

The Liaison Committee members calling for the motion include Angus McNeil, Norman Lamb, Meg Hillier, Bob Neil, Rachel Reeves and Pete Wishart.

House of Lords
Parliament

In her speech, Labour's Leader in the Lords Baroness Smith of Basildon touches on last weekend's air strikes on Syria.

She says she is will "fully accept is is not always possible" to discuss all possible military action in Parliament, but she wants to know why it was not consulted in this instance.

She says she's "not challenging the government's judgement" but wants clarity on the government's view of the principle of consulting Parliament and why it was not adhered to this time.

Since the 2003 war in Iraq, UK military deployments have been voted on before armed forces proceed, including strikes against Syria in 2013, which were defeated, and strikes against ISIS in 2015, which were supported by Parliament.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Labour's Clive Betts, Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, is giving a statement on their 4th report into the private rented sector.

You can read the report on the Parliament website, external.

He says that six out of 10 councils never prosecuted a landlord in 2016, and Newham Council was responsible for 50% of all prosecutions against landlords in the country.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Foreign Office Minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon is introducing a general debate on the national security situation.

He says the current international situation is "more complex and in many ways less predictable than at any time since the Second World War" with "growing threats to the rules based international order".

He says many states have a "flagrant disregard for their people and their international obligations" but the United Kingdom is "standing firm in the face of these threats".

House of Lords
Parliament

Lib Dem peer Lord Addington asks what support the government is providing to support non-Olympic sports, following British successes at the Commonwealth Games.

Notable British successes in non-Olympic sports at the games were England's gold medal in netball, and Scotland's two gold medals in lawn bowls.

Minister Viscount Younger of Leckie says there is £15m of "core funding" for non-Olympic sports until 2021 but the government needs to "invest strategically in the right sports and the right athletes".

UK Sport, which funds "elite" sport in the UK, only invests in Olympic and Paralympic sport.

House of Lords
Parliament

Conservative Baroness Jenkin of Kennington asks what action the government is taking to reduce childhood obesity.

She says the "daily mile" program, started in a primary school in Scotland, where children are encouraged to jog for 15 minutes a day is "proven to show massive improvement in health, wellbeing and academic attainment". She asks if it will be implemented more widely.

Health Minister Lord O'Shaughnessy says 2,000 UK primary schools currently do the "daily mile" and that the government believes it is an "excellent initiative" that "develops good habits and mental health" which schools should be encouraged to take up.

Image source, HoL

House of Lords
Parliament

Today's second question is on what the government is doing to ensure the sufficient availability of legal aid.

Yesterday, the Law Society warned that criminal defence solicitors may become extinct, external due to cuts.

Baroness Butler-Sloss says the current legal aid system is putting criminal defence law "under real threat".

Minister Lord Keen of Elie says the current fees for criminal defence were developed "in conjunction with the profession itself" and is supposed to "better reflect the work being done".

House of Lords
Parliament

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Conservative Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury asks what criteria must be satisfied for an independent inquiry into a police investigation to be established.

Home Office minister Baroness Williams of Trafford says there is no "definitive set of criteria" for setting up an inquiry.

Lord Sherborne wants there to be an inquiry into the Wiltshire police investigation into allegations of child abuse made against former prime minister Sir Edward Heath after his death. He says an independent inquiry is the "only option".

Supporters of Sir Edward believe his reputation was dragged through the mud posthumously by an inconclusive investigation.

Baroness Williams says inquiries "should only be considered where other investigatory mechanisms would not be sufficient". She says the power to hold an inquiry is held by Wiltshire's Police and Crime Commissioner.

House of Commons
Parliament

House of Commons
Parliament

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The SNP's Commons business spokesperson Pete Wishart says "this hasn't been one of her finest weeks in this job," and he says that the structuring of Parliamentary debates on Syria this week were a "shambles".

He asks the Commons leader to bring forward a full amendable motion for a full day's debate on Syria.

Ms Leadsom responds to say that the order of business this week has been "an important point". She says the only way to change the order of debate on the day is through an urgent debate request.

She adds that the prime minister was "determined to be held accountable by this House for her actions", adding it is "unfair and ungenerous to suggest that there was anybody in this place who was seeking to avoid accountability".

House of Commons
Parliament

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Shadow leader of the House Valerie Vaz asks for a statement from the Home Office to update the House on the ongoing Windrush immigration row. She accuses the Home Office of being "rudderless".

She says it is the Backbench Committee which have agreed on a debate to be held on customs and borders, something which the government should be allowing time for during Brexit, she says.

Ms Leadsom responds to say that the Commons is "extraordinarily busy" saying that the government "have introduced 27 bills in this legislative session" - this is in response to accusations from Ms Vaz that Parliament is not passing many bills or debating much legislation.

"We are achieving a lot," she adds.

Ms Leadsom again apologises for the Windrush row which is "incredibly regrettable", and says she apologises "unreservedly" for the problems.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Leader of the House, Andrea Leadsom, is outlining future business in the House of Commons.

Highlights include:

• On Monday, the Rating and Council Tax Bill, external, a Statutory Instrument on the Higher Education Act
• Tuesday, remaining stages of Financial Guidance and Claims Bill, external, from the Lords
• Wednesday is an Opposition Day, debates will be on schools and social care
• Thursday, backbench debates on customs and borders, plastic bottles and coffee cups
• On Friday, the House will sit to hear private members' bills