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Labour's Rachel Reeves, who chairs the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, asks the government to look again at the takeover code.

She says other countries have time limits on how long shareholders must own shares before seeking a takeover of the company.

Greg Clark says that her committee asked for undertakings to be given, and he has since persuaded the company to go further after they were not initially happy at the undertakings offered.

He says that time-limited voting rights are something the committee can review.

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SNP business spokesman Drew Hendry says traders have been betting against Melrose "making a success" of GKN after the takeover.

He asks what assurances have been given about protecting skilled jobs.

Greg Clark says Melrose has committed to five years of investment in research and development.

He adds that obtaining commitments from a future bidder may well contradict business commitments to the current owner.

"In terms of debt", he says, the debt of the previous business was higher than anticipated, and it is planned that the new management will pay that down, he tells MPs.

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Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey says protection for GKN companies is inadequate, outside the "small remit" where the government has sought assurances.

She adds that there have been no "post-offer undertakings" on many aspects of the business.

The "short termist" outlook of Melrose will not be good for defence contracts, she tells MPs.

Calling the UK's takeover regime "inadequate", she says ministers are often unable to act for employees or the public interest.

In reply Greg Clarke says a takeover of a British firm by another has never been blocked on national security grounds.

Current government powers over takeovers were created by the previous Labour government, he says.

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Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary Greg Clark says that as of last Friday, 88.5% of GKN shareholders had approved of the takeover of Melrose.

He says the defence secretary has advised him of safeguards in the case of changes to GKN's business, which provides engineering to the UK government in the defence sector.

There will be assurances that there are protections for national security and the current business model will be maintained for five years, he adds.

At the least, research and development will remain at the current level for the next financial year, he says - adding that Melrose has agreed to meet him every six months to discuss the business.

His judgement is that there are no reasonable and proportionate grounds to make an intervention on national security grounds, he tells MPs.

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The Commons is hearing a statement from Business Secretary Greg Clark on GKN.

At the end of March, it was announced that Melrose would buy engineering firm GKN for £8bn. Criticism was levied from Labour at the government, who said they waited too long to intervene in the process.

Labour have called Melrose a "short-termist asset-stripper" and have condemned the deal.

GKN employs 58,000 people worldwide, 6,000 of them in the UK. The deal drew criticism from government, unions and GKN customers.

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Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, Labour MP Rachel Reeves, says she feels the government is being "a little bit complacent on this issue", and that since Carillion went bankrupt, new hospitals in Sandwell and Liverpool have been mothballed.

She asks what confidence the minister has in continued provision of these contracts if Capita fails.

Mr Dowden says he wants to reassure MPs that the delivery of those hospitals has "a clear plan".

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Labour's Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Meg Hillier, says "it is no good making savings if the core services are not being delivered well".

She asks him to list which contracts with Capita he is concerned about. She says there is no point using taxpayers' money on these companies if they are not delivering the public services.

Mr Dowden says the contracts agreed are "very stringent contracts" and each department is responsible for oversight. There are consequences for these companies if they are not delivered properly, he adds.

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SNP business spokesperson Drew Hendry says that "contract bungles is indicative of a government with no strategy".

He asks if the minister is "at all worried" at the situation, saying the minister is "wedded to the PFI model".

Mr Dowden says that all governments have used outsourcers "because they know they can deliver savings". He says he takes a "close interest in all our strategic suppliers" and receives updates "on a weekly basis".

"The position of Capita is not the same as Carillion," he finishes.

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The shadow Cabinet Office minister, Chris Matheson, says that Capita "had no strategy" and lists contracts that the company has failed the government on.

He asks what contingency plans are in place in case there are defaults on these current government contracts.

He says the government's commitment to outsourcing "is nothing more than ideological" and will "not shift from its view" until public services fold.

Mr Dowden says that yesterday's announcement was "entirely in line with market expectations" and their strategy "has been set out".

The company are working on reducing their debts and reducing their pensions deficit, as well as their cost base. The government "undertake appropriate contingency plans" in all companies which are awarded contracts.

Mr Dowden says that "this is not a party political issue", saying that governments of all colours have used outsourcing.

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Sir Vince Cable says that the public will once again be "concerned" at what is happening with Capita following Carillion. He asks what contingency plans are in place and have been put in place since the profit warnings were issued in the company.

He asks what steps the government has taken to reform the system of government procurement, to prevent companies "lowballing" and breaking up large contracts to stop over-reliance on certain companies.

Mr Dowden says that there have been no new contracts announced by central government with Capita, although the BBC and Northern Ireland have awarded new contracts.

He adds that the government is trying to break up large contracts, and has set a target of 33% of government contracts being given to small and medium sized enterprises. Prompt payments by suppliers is also going to become a necessity, he adds.

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Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Dowden says "private companies can answer for themselves", while the "government priority" is the continuation "of public services".

He says that Capita's recent changes in structure and funding have led to share price increases from confidence in the market.

"Management have confirmed that key shareholders fully support their plans," he adds.

Shareholders, not the taxpayer, are taking the burden in this case, he says.

The measures taken by the company will reduce the pensions deficit and invest in their core business, he states.

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Former business secretary and Liberal Democrat Sir Vince Cable has tabled an urgent question on Capita.

Yesterday, Capita rang alarm bells by announcing that it had made an annual loss £513m.

Capita is an outsourcing giant used by government and private firms alike. It provides some customer services for O2, as well as operating the London congestion charge and the electronic tagging system for the Ministry of Justice.

Capita also collects the licence fee for the BBC, and recently commenced a five year contract to provide audience services to the broadcaster.

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Green MP Caroline Lucas asks why the UK government continues to make "that awful situation even worse" by continuing arms sales to Saudi Arabia. She asks how the UK can have "any moral standing on the world stage at the same time we are selling arms to the head-chopping war-mongering Saudi government".

She says the UK needs to continue having diplomatic ties even to "countries we don't agree with", but to sell arms "is beyond the pale even for our own government".

Harriett Baldwin says under UN resolution 2216 there is a "legitimate reason for Saudi Arabia to be concerned about the fact that missiles are being fired on a regular basis into its territory".

She says it is right that there is no "military solution" to the conflict in Yemen.

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Liberal Democrat international trade spokesperson Tom Brake says he joins calls for arms sales to Saudi Arabia to be suspended. He says the MOD has previously said that British forces are in the Saudi control rooms in order to provide advice on "best practice targeting techniques to help ensure continued compliance with international humanitarian law".

He asks "what went wrong".

The minister says it is good that the Saudi-led coalition have acknowledged the need for a full investigation into what has happened in Yemen.

The government urges that investigation to be published as quickly as possible "so that lessons can be learned", she finishes.

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The SNP's International Development Spokesperson Chris Law says that just this morning, an airstrike killed a wedding party in Yemen. He says that one third of strikes from Saudi Arabia affect non military targets, he condemns Saudi in targeting innocent people.

He says the UK has sold 48 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, which brings total arms sales to the country of £4.6bn, and he says this makes the UK "complicit" in the war in Yemen.

The minister says "it is clearly the case that the UK is saying to all sides in this conflict that the way to secure peace is through the political dialogue".

She says that in 2017 the High Court found in favour of the UK government, in asserting that Saudi Arabia has enough internal checks on use of military strength.

Theresa May says she would not be PM and there would be no female MPs without Millicent Fawcett.

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Shadow international development secretary Kate Osamor says the situation in Yemen is "as dire as ever" and asks what steps are being taken to reopen dialogue on a ceasefire.

She urges the government to make it clear "Britain will not be complicit" in Yemen's suffering and to insist on full humanitarian access before signing the £100m aid partnership with Saudi Arabia.

Harriett Baldwin acknowledges the UK has an "important role to play" but says the most effective route is through the UN and its special envoy for a peace process.

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Labour's Stephen Twigg responds to the answer given by Ms Baldwin, saying that recent strikes from Houthi rebels in Yemen on Saudi Arabia will lead to further escalations.

"Saudi Arabia has the right to protect its territory and its people from these attacks."

However, he adds, the Hodeidah Port is one of two major ports for humanitarian aid into Yemen, and he asks for assurances to make sure the UK is doing "everything it can" to prevent an offensive by the Saudi government from taking place.

"What Yemen needs is peace and political settlement," he says.

Minister Harriett Baldwin says the "UK holds the pen at the United Nations on this matter", and she says the government urges both sides in the conflict to "exercise restraint" and continue access to the ports.

"Further military action is not the way forward, and the way forward is around the negotiating table towards peace," she says.

The UK has the most "rigorous export controls, and that involves the observation of international humanitarian law", she finishes.