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Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas says that membership of the customs union "is essential". She states that just before the referendum, the prime minister stated how new trade arrangements outside the EU would not be able to replicate what the EU currently gives the UK.

She says that both the PM and environment secretary have said that there should be no degradation in animal welfare standards, but she warns that UK farmers will not be able to compete with cheaper international food of lower quality and welfare standards.

She adds that while chlorine washed chicken has no real evidence of impacts on human health, it is linked to poorer animal welfare.

The Taxation (Cross-Border Trade) Bill, more commonly known as the Customs bill, acts as a replacement for all the EU law tied up in the customs union. Given that the bill is being introduced before the Brexit negotiations are complete, the bill is intentionally flexible so that it can accommodate various outcomes from a free trade agreement with the EU, through to a ‘no deal’ Brexit.

The bill covers four main areas:

Customs duties – the bill allows the UK to create a standalone customs regime separate to that of the EU. The government’s intention is that the new regime will operate in a similar way to the EU’s in order to avoid difficulties when trading.

Trade defence – the EU currently has jurisdiction over disputes between countries. The bill changes that so that if the UK thinks a country is trading unfairly, the government no longer needs to go through the EU to sort it out.

Trade preferences – this allows the UK to sign trade agreements with developing countries which will replace the agreements (as far as the UK is concerned) between them and the EU.

Delegated powers – more commonly known as Henry VIII powers, these allow the government to change an act of Parliament without having to go through the Commons and Lords a second time. Similar powers in the EU Withdrawal Bill, which became law last month, led to opposition from MPs on all sides of the House. Eventually, the government accepted compromise amendments.

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Conservative Laurence Robertson is speaking to his New Clause 37 which would make it illegal for the government to put a border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

He says the most important market for the region is the UK internal market.

This is not an amendment to "tie the government's hands", he says, but signals to the people of Northern Ireland that they will "not be left behind or left out".

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The ERG amendments "want to take us off a cliff edge", says Labour MP Ian Murray.

(The ERG amendments are four amendments to the bill proposed by supporters of Brexit. They've been accepted by the government, but criticised by Remain-supporting MPs for crossing the Chequers agreement.)

The government "might as well set alight the Chequers agreement", he says, and suggests that if David Davis had stayed on as Brexit secretary a few more days he would have seen the changes he wanted go through, such is the government's position.

He joins Yvette Cooper in calling on his own front bench to vote against the ERG wrecking amendments, before turning to the government front benches.

"We need people on that front bench to stand up, with a bit of backbone, for the interests of this country."

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Former international development secretary Priti Patel says that this is a "golden opportunity" for the UK to be "in charge of its own destiny".

She adds that there are certain red lines "which cannot be crossed".

She says that the government is agreeing to collect taxes on behalf of the EU which the EU are not offering to reciprocate, she says that this is "yet another compromise" and that these ERG amendments would show the EU that they cannot "steamroller" the government.

She says that the EU are "not engaging with us".

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Lib Dem Exiting the EU spokesperson Tom Brake asks what damage "this farce" is doing to the UK's reputation in the world.

"This debate so far has been rather short on consequences," he says, "there's been a lot about aspirations, ambition, ideology and speculation, but rather little on the consequences of Brexit."

The government has "ducked and dived" on impact assessments, he says, explaining that the amendments he is supporting would force the government to provide these assessments.

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Father of the House Kenneth Clarke says that the single market and customs union "has played a large part" in securing economic prosperity for the UK in attracting investment.

He says that Boris Johnson and his supporters are dismissing the Confederation of British Industry, the Institute of Directors, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and more in their warnings of the implications of Brexit.

He says that "with any luck" people who understand the subject will be able to come up with a "workable version" of these problems.

Most sensible members of the public have "no real idea" what MPs are talking about today, he states.

If the UK leaves with no deal, it would be the only developed country in the world which has no trade deals at all, he adds.

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Labour's Yvette Cooper says Mr Davis' speech shows why he resigned from the government, as his view "just clashes with reality".

Expressing support for Anna Soubry's amendment to keep the UK in the customs union, she warns that without this "it's not the fact that we think all trade will stop, it won't, but it will become more difficult, more costly".

She suggests the government has ripped up it's own Brexit white paper by giving in on the ERG's amendments, which would commit the government to having a separate VAT system to the EU.

"Why on earth would we want to add these additional burdens and checks?" She asks.

"We are in a very strange situation where I, as a Labour MP, am arguing far more strongly and passionately against these additional burdens on businesses than the hard right of the Conservative party," she says.

She turns to her own frontbench, calling on them to not vote for the ERG amendment, "I don't see how we can tolerate the damage that the hard right of the Conservative party wants to do to our manufacturing industry".

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Former exiting the EU secretary David Davis says that "this is not a resignation statement," but says that these two bills (today's Customs bill and tomorrow's Trade bill) are "vital pieces of legislation". He urges MPs not to vote against them.

He says that the Conservative party stood on a platform of not being in the customs union during the 2017 general election.

Mr Davis says that "the fast growth in world trade" is something which the UK "should take great interest in". Friction in trade with the EU will do "enormous damage", he adds.

He states that businesses have "coped" in the past with periods of delayed passage in the ports due to strikes in France.

He says that "the most difficult issue in this negotiation" has been Northern Ireland. He adds that there is "no way" that a UK government would "ever" install a hard border in Northern Ireland, and neither would the Irish government.

He adds that there is "already a border there" in customs, currency and tax.

He says the fact that the EU represents 28 countries means that agreements are suboptimal and often are not in the UK's best interests. He adds that smaller countries, such as Switzerland, can still strike trade deals which are in their interests.

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Labour's Chris Leslie says that the prosperity of this country is reliant on a "healthy and a vibrant economy". He says that the Treasury's own analysis emerges in tax revenues if the UK leaves the customs union and the single market.

He says the customs union and single market is the "absolute minimum" which the UK needs to be in.

He asks for the government to focus on where there is consensus in Parliament, rather than a small minority viewpoint held by around 40 MPs.

He says it would be "helpful" to view both bills on customs and trade today and tomorrow "as a piece". He urges the government to stop putting down red lines which the UK will later have to go back on before it ends up back in the customs union.

The government is "shooting itself in the foot" over collecting tariffs on behalf of the EU, he says, as this will affect future free trade agreements with other countries.

"We need to assert common sense economic reality," he says.

The PM says her Brexit deal will stay the same despite new amendments from Brexiteers.

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The Commons moves on to debating the remaining stages of the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) bill, external.

Anna Soubry rises to speak to her New Clause 1, which seeks to keep the UK in the Customs Union with the EU.

She says it is "deeply regrettable" that the government has sought to accept amendments from the Brexiteers. She says that when she became a business minister in 2015, she "did not know the finer details" of how many of the UK's businesses actually worked.

She states that she was "soon enmeshed" in her brief and looking at the supply chains of various sectors. She asks for MPs to go to a car manufacturer in the UK to ask "what a supply chain is" and how it relies on "frictionless borders" and "what just in time means".

She says "shame on you" to MPs who have not witnessed how a modern manufacturing process works.

She adds that she believes in capitalism, enterprise and business, adding that the single market is something Margaret Thatcher championed. Japanese business invested billions of pounds in the UK as a result of the single market, she stated.

"It's all well and good having your ideologically driven, hard Brexit ideas and being unable to face up to the reality of what it means for people in my constituency and in the rest of our country," she says.

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The SNP's constitution spokesperson Pete Wishart is requesting an emergency debate on section 9.5 of the ministerial code. This section deals with how much time should be given for the opposition to receive an oral statement in writing before it is given to the Commons.

He says Thursday, where the Brexit white paper was not produced before the statement was "nothing less than a farce" as MPs threw white paper across the House.

He says that crises across Whitehall are taking place "by the hour".

He says this is "the worst possible example" of a breach of the ministerial code.

Dame Eleanor Laing, deputy Speaker, says that she is "not satisfied" that this reaches the criteria for an emergency debate.

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Former trade minister Greg Hands asks for more information on the consultative round tables mentioned in the statement. He asks how consumer groups can have a "proper voice" in such consultations.

Dr Fox says that there will be people from across industry in the proposed strategic trade advisory group.

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Tory MP Sir Nicholas Soames asks what will be done to make clear to members of the public and the press that trade arrangements are "not all about toxic chickens".

Mr Fox says he agrees that it is vital that ordinary members of the public are able to understand trade arrangements, and adds that people are now far more interested than they were before.

Lib Dem MP Tom Brake hits back, arguing that issues such as chlorine washed chicken are massive concerns when considering trade arrangements.

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Conservative MP Ken Clarke says that this non-urgent statement is being used to squeeze the debate on the following Customs bill down to four hours for speeches and voting.

He says that the government will, this afternoon, adopt amendments which are "directly inconsistent" with what was agreed at Chequers.

He asks if it is premature for Dr Fox to come speak to the House on this matter when trade deals will only be completed years in the future.

Dr Fox says that squeezing the next debate was not the reason for this statement.