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In response, Justin Tomlinson repeats that many of the points raised by the courts will be considered.

He says co-habitation was previously considered, but is not straightforward and subsequently could lead to delays, further distress or multiple claims.

He claims the new system is easier and quicker.

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Shadow secretary Margaret Greenwood pays tribute to mother Siobhan McLaughlin for her courage. She says unmarried bereaved parents should not be "discriminated against" and that their children's needs are the same.

Ms Greenwood says the Supreme Court's decision applies across the UK and asks what are the costs to bringing forward legislation to update the law

The shadow secretary tells the House that co-habilitating couples are second biggest family type.

Ms Greenwood concludes that those "struggling with grief" should not have to face worry about how they will manage financially

An unmarried mother won a landmark court case, which could allow her to claim a Widowed Parent's Allowance.

Mother-of-four Siobhan McLaughlin, from County Antrim, lived with her partner for 23 years but never married, which meant she was not able to claim the benefit when he died.

The UK's Supreme Court ruled this was incompatible with human rights law, external.

The ruling puts pressure on ministers to change the rules, potentially benefiting thousands of families.

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Work and Pensions minister Justin Tomlinson is now making a statement on Widowed Parent's Allowance.

Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that current legislation was not compatible with human rights law.

Mr Tomlinson says that this does not change the legislation, and that the issue was debated in the House at the time the rules were introduced.

He says that a legal union provides a clear threshold.

"We are carefully considering the courts judgement and how we should proceed with this."

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Independent MP John Woodcock says the public needs to see that their elected representatives accept the "forensically reached conclusions of the police and British security services over the lies and propaganda that will be pumped out by our enemies".

He says it's "heartening" that the overwhelming majority of MPs have done this.

He asks whether the prime minister agrees that "the attack by the Russian state on British soil" was sufficient for Nato to trigger Article 5, external, and whether she reserves the right to do so in future.

Theresa May says the interpretation of matters relating to Nato collective defence "rest on matters of law".

She agrees that it is important that the House shows support and determination to get to the bottom of what happened in Salisbury.

"We will continue to talk with Nato about the ways in which we can actually enhance Nato's ability to deal with malign states activity of the variety of sorts that we see today. When Nato was first established it was very much in the cases of what would be seen as conventional warfare.

"If we look at these issues around propaganda and cyber attacks today... we need to look and make sure that Nato has the capabilities necessary to be able to deal with that."

Theresa May spoke on the phone to US President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening to update him on the latest development in the Salisbury investigation, the PM's official spokesman said.

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Image source, HoC

Conservative MP, Sir Desmond Swayne, asks whether, when Theresa May said "a decision outside the GRU by the Russian State at a senior level", she means President Putin.

Theresa May pauses then says "I mean...a decision outside the GRU at a senior level in the Russian state."

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Labour MP Chris Bryant says he has no doubt blame goes right to the top of the Russia state and to President Putin.

He says the Russian embassy's only response to the latest news has been to ask for access the the Skripals, "presumably to finish them off".

He calls for a "proper judicial process" to respond to the attack, saying that after Alexander Litvinenko's murder there was a judge led inquiry that was able to come to proper legal conclusions.

The PM agrees that it was not a rogue operation, and that it would have needed senior sign off from the Russia government.

She says the police investigation is still on going, but it is now a single investigation, with no further line of inquiry.

She says the government wants to ensure "appropriate lessons" are learnt, and repeats that the UK will be "straining every sinew" to bring those responsible to justice.

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SNP MP Alison Thewliss asks what is being done to close loopholes that benefit Russian money in the UK.

The PM says the government has stepped up work in this area, and intends to legislate on this further.

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Conservative MP Julian Lewis urges Mrs May to make more of the passage of a law in 2006 by the Russian Federation Parliament which specifically enables its President to order the assassination of Russian enemies abroad.

Mr Lewis asks Mrs May if she will have a quiet word with the Chancellor to ensure the defence budget is as high as it needs to be.

The prime minister says Mr Lewis is right to highlight the law which gives the ability to order assassinations outside of the Russian State.

"It's important for people to recognise the background against which they are operating."

The PM says the government is looking at modernising the defence programme, but what is important is ensuring the UK has all the tools to deal with cyber activity taking place by Russia, as well as the physical threat.

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The Home Affairs Select Committee Chair Yvette Cooper says Russia's actions must be condemned, and raises the case of Alexander Litvinenko.

She says the UK's response to Mr Litvinenko's murder was not quick enough or sufficient, and asks whether the PM has considered this, and what lessons will be learnt.

Theresa May says the government has looked closely at what can be learnt from the response to Alexander Litvinenko's death - and that the response to the events in Salisbury has been the most thorough action ever.

She says that she cannot give further details regarding the UK's response in the House, but can brief Ms Cooper privately on Privy Council terms.

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Conservative MP Amber Rudd says it is "the nature of the Russain propaganda machine that they will always throw smoke up to confuse us."

Ms Rudd asks the prime minister whether she shares her hope that the clear evidence here will make her confident to believe the security service led us in this direction and knew what they were doing.

Theresa May thanks Amber Rudd for her help as home secretary during the Salisbury attack. She says that it is the independent CPS that has laid charges, but that the GRU connection with the suspects is clear.

"It is incumbent on all those who were sceptical in March to recognise the evidence that has been laid before the House and public and to condemn the Russain state wholeheartedly."

Mark D'Arcy
Parliamentary Correspondent

I sometimes wonder if anyone would notice if a broadcaster were to substitute one of the previous weeks’ PMQs exchanges on Brexit for today’s. These formulaic, ritualistic clashes tell us little or nothing about the biggest issue confronting the country.

Jeremy Corbyn brandishes the latest unhelpful quotes from cabinet ministers and other big figures; Theresa May says it’s all going according to plan and challenges the Labour leader to rule out a second referendum.

It’s kabuki dancing for Brexit nerds… a rather niche form of, er, entertainment.

The former Brexit Minister Steve Baker, a long time organiser of the backbench eurosceptics asked a deceptively simple question about preparations for a no-deal Brexit – an issue which matters a great deal to the hard core Brexiteers.

The answer from the PM was not the point; the aim was to underline how important this party faction thinks those preparations are.

It is always hard to gauge the reaction of the troops on either side of the House, to another helping of all this, but they were clearly less than ecstatic.

If one of these two leaders were a really top parliamentary artist, the other would have been ousted by now. Instead the opposing sides cheered their ritual cheers – and on the Labour side the forced mirth at their Leader’s quip about the PM “dancing around” Brexit issues looked a little embarrassed.

The question of the day was probably Meg Hillier’s pithy inquiry about cash-strapped schools cutting the number of teaching days….

The PM floundered around for a few minutes before grinding out a non-answer about more pupils being in good schools.

Vince Cable delivered a nice, well-honed question about the process for giving EU nationals resident in Britain the “settled status” which will allow them to continue to live here after Brexit.

There are 59 pages of guidance, he said, providing “59 ways of saying no in a hostile environment.” It was a nice piece of parliamentary art, but it produced barely a splash….

The PM did not even bother to make some sarcastic quip about the Lib Dem leader’s rumoured plans to stand down. Perhaps the strategy is to starve him of publicity by declining to seriously engage with anything he says.

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Sir Vince Cable says "our seriousness will be judged by actions rather than words".

The Lib-Dem leader asks how many Russian oligarchs in the UK have had their assets seized in response to their country's actions.

The PM says the National Crime Agency has stepped up its actions in relation to these matters, but that she can't comment on the specifics of on-going actions or individual cases.

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Image source, HoC

SNP's Ian Blackford says the news of the arrest warrant will send a clear message that the UK will not tolerate the use of chemicals in any offensive circumstances such as in the attack in Salisbury.

Mr Blackford says he thinks working with international partners, the government should put maximum pressure on Russia to send the suspects to the UK for trial.

He says the SNP are fully committed to working constructively with the government to ensure that the public is protected, and expreses his gratitude to the police.

Mr Blackford says the threat from Russia must always be met by a united front, standing in solidarity against the abuse of power and that he looks forward to justice being done.

He says the government must be prepared to take on Russia over human rights issues and money laundering.

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Image source, HoC

Conservative MP Boris Johnson - who was foreign secretary at the time of the attacks - says the House noted the language of the leader of the Labour party, in failing to condemn after it became clear of the involvement of the Russian state in the Salisbury attack.

He asks the PM to confirm the UK will be asking for the two suspects "to be produced by Russia" and step up diplomatic efforts so the international community can show "their repugnance", in the way the Labour leader has not.

Theresa May say the CPS does not have a policy of requesting extradition, but if the two individuals step outside Russia, the UK will take every step to ensure they face justice.

And she says the UK will be stepping up activity to deal with "malign state activity".

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Image source, HoC

The PM responds - repeating that the UK has issued arrest warrants but "Russia does not allow its citizens to be extradited", and any attempts to achieve this would be futile.

She says the UK has repeatedly asked Russia to respond to the actions, and been met with lies. She adds they must reign in the actions of the GRU (Russian security services).

"I would hope that some of those who were cautious about accepting" that Russia was responsible will now recognise reality, and act accordingly, she says.

"I and this government, and I'm sure others members of this House, will be very clear about the culpability of the Russia state in the attack on Salisbury."

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Image source, HoC

Jeremy Corbyn says he "utterly condemns" the attack, commends the efforts of the police to reveal the suspects, and will back all reasonable and respectable actions against Russia and the individuals involved to bring justice.

The leader of the Opposition says his thoughts are with the family of Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley who is still recovering, and that he sends his best wishes to the Skripals.

Mr Corbyn says that he visited Salisbury this summer and that six months after the attack people are still suffering in the community and there is an eerie calm hanging over the city with a park still cordoned off.

He commends the sympathy shown by the PM to the people of Salisbury in her statement.

He commends police for their efforts in trawling through hours of evidence, and asks given the decision to charge two Russians for the attack, what steps is Theresa May taking in cooperating with the Russian government in bringing the two men to trial.

He says that the prime minister must put pressure on Russia to reveal how this agent was used in the UK, and wants to know what conversations Theresa May has had with Russia on this issue.

Jeremy Corbyn reminds the House that the UN set up the organisation for prevention of chemical weapons in 2015, but says that more needs to be done in terms of bringing those who violate these laws to justice.