House of Commons
Parliament

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Jeremy Corbyn says "we are all constituency MPs and I think most of us are well aware of the pain that Universal Credit is causing".

He says "it is not making work pay, it is taking money away from working families and putting children into poverty".

He asks if the PM disputes the National Audit Office's suggestion that the system could "end up costing more".

Ms May says she remembers a constituent coming to her during the Labour government, who had been told that despite wanting to getting into work, she was "better off on benefits".

"That's the legacy of the Labour Party," she says.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Jeremy Corbyn continues his attack on the government's Universal Credit policy, saying that "half a million more children have gone into poverty" as a result.

Prime Minister Theresa May retorts by quoting individuals who are happy with the new Universal Credit system.

"We are helping get people into work," she says, and quotes the unemployment figures revealed this week.

Universal Credit is a new benefit designed to support those who are working on a low income or out of work.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Jeremy Corbyn says the the flagship benefit policy Universal Credit is flawed and failing hundreds of thousands of people both in and out of work in the UK.

He says the government in 2010 promised 350,000 children would transition out of poverty, and questions whether the prime minister stands by this figure.

In response, Theresa May says the government introduced Universal Credit as the UK needed a system which encourages people to work, makes sure people are paid and one that was a better system than the legacy system of the Labour party, which paid recipients up to £100,000 on benefits - the money of hard earning taxpayers.

House of Commons
Parliament

Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn asks what the National Farmers Union, the Federation of Small Businesses and the National Audit Office, as well as Gingerbread, the National Housing Federation and the Royal Society of Arts all have in common.

Prime Minister Theresa May says they all give excellent service, promote the interests of those they represent and to which the government interacts and listens.

House of Commons
Parliament

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The first question comes from Tory David Duguid who asks about fishing industry during the implementation period.

Theresa May says leaving the EU means "taking back control of our waters" and "who fishes in our seas".

House of Commons
Parliament

The prime minister is on her feet for the start of PMQs.

House of Commons
Parliament

Ministers are asked about plans being made in preparation for if the UK was to leave the European Union without a deal.

Minister for the Cabinet Office David Lidington says the department has made contingency plans and are working with other departments on this. He says it is a "sensible precaution" to take.

Conservative MP Simon Clark suggests the preparations for 'no-deal' are essential to ensure that the UK is a "position to credibly negotiate". The minister agrees, and says "all ministers around the table are working to ensure the UK is prepared".

SNP spokesman Tommy Shepherd asks for assurance that there will no excuses used to force though legislation on devolved governments. Mr Lidington says the government hopes not to, and that there still needs to be UK-wide frameworks after Brexit.

Labour spokesman Chris Matheson asks "when will the interests of the country be put ahead of the interests of the Brexit extremists in the Tory party?" Mr Lidington says the government puts these interests at the highest priority every day.

Mark D'Arcy
Parliamentary Correspondent

With internal turbulence in both main parties, both the big players in PMQs will doubtless be keen to head off to their conferences on a winning note; the question is whether either of them really has the skill to do so.

Whatever their other qualities Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn seldom display the rather specialised skills needed to dominate at PMQs.

As he celebrates his third anniversary in the job, the Labour leader has any number of possible lines of attack and faces his regular choice between subjects which are the talk of Westminster (Tory leadership rumblings and Brexit plotting) or subjects which resonate with actual voters (the state of public services, maybe the latest National Audit Office report on police funding – Diane Abbott has an Urgent Question after PMQs).

Maybe his team, who have become adept at devising good opening lines for him, will find a way to combine the two.

Theresa May can take comfort in the presence of a phalanx of loyal backbenchers in today’s list of questioners, all doubtless keen to feed her opportunities to highlight good news or attack the other side – a chance to highlight a tough line of Russia, for example, or laud the new agriculture white paper, or fisheries policy.

But both leaders will be wondering if any of their internal critics will break cover – either with a direct attack or with an unhelpful question.

The listed questioners don’t include many obvious dissidents – Labour’s Pat McFadden might come up with a Brexit question for Theresa May, but with his own leader the real target.

But Mr Speaker has the opportunity to call questioners beyond the names on the order paper, so keep an eye out for those.

There’s also the rarity of a “closed” or specific question, with Conservative backbencher Michael Fabricant asking about the economy of the West Midlands. His follow up will be on the proposal for a “silicon canal” tech industry hub in Birmingham.

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Brandon Lewis - who is also chairman of the Conservative party - is one of many MPs sporting wheat pin badges in the Commons today to mark #BackBritishFarming Day.

Back British Farming is the NFU’s campaign, designed to build support for the British food and farming sector.

It's urging people to buy British food and enjoy the countryside responsibly.

(Nothing to do with the PM's famous confession at the last election about running through fields of wheat...)

House of Commons
Parliament

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Business in the Commons chamber begins for the day with questions to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Cabinet office ministers.

Conservative MP Alex Burghart asks about trends in the level of intimidation experienced by people in public life.

Minister without Portfolio Brandon Lewis says abuse is unacceptable and the government has launched a consultation on the issue. He agrees with Mr Burghart that "we must do everything we can to protect robust debate with respect".

Labour MP Chris Elmore asks about tackling abuse on Facebook and Twitter, and suggests "voluntary charters" should be introduced to ensure abuse does not continue.

Mr Lewis says it is a good idea, and suggests Mr Elmore encourage the Labour party to adopt such a pledge.

Select Committee
Parliament

Labour peer Lord Reid asks about the nature about cyber security threats.

Mr Hannigan says the security services have been good at protecting the government from cyber threats over the last 30 years.

There is a huge amount to be done by the tech companies and "those who own the internet" and there is a "long way to go".

"It will be down to political will and vested interests."

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Select Committee
Parliament

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Conservative peer Lord Jopling asks the witnesses if there are "glaring holes" in the UK's preparedness for any extreme threats that may arise.

Former GCHQ Director Robert Hannigan there is a history in the West of "underestimating what terrorists will do", citing the September 11th attacks and says nobody imaged anyone would fly a plane into an office block or "stage manage executions" in the way terrorist groups have.

Mr Hannigan says terrorists like the idea of "catastrophic attacks", but tells the committee there are many detailed plans in place to disrupt all kinds of plans.

Select Committee
Parliament

The Committee is examining the changing face of foreign policy and assessing the UK's capability to adapt to these changes.

The questioning is covering the following:

• What are the most pressing foreign policy and national security issues facing the UK?
• Is the National Security Council appropriately structured to coordinate the UK’s international policies?
• How well has the UK adapted to the cyber security threat? What more is there to be done?
• Which countries represent the UK’s most important partners in its post-Brexit foreign policy?

Select Committee
Parliament

Sir Mark Lyall Grant tells the committee that the greatest long-term threat to the UK's national security is the "erosion of the rules-based international order".

He goes on to say that Russia is deliberately trying to undermine "our system of governance, our democracy, our institutions".

President Putin is trying to "push back" against Russia's "relative decline", he adds.

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Select Committee
Parliament

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Lord Howell opens the session and asks the witnesses about the new and emerging threats in the "digital age".

Former National Security Adviser Sir Mark Lyall-Grant says new threats "haven't come completely out of the blue" and that ongoing threats have been "amplified by the digital revolution".

Former Director of GCHQ Robert Hannigan says the digital age has "shrunk the time" of terrorist attack plans from "years and months to days".

Mr Hannigan says the digital revolution enables extreme communities to be created "on a huge global scale".

Select Committee
Parliament

This is a House of Lords committee and is chaired by former Foreign Office minister Lord Howell of Guildford.

The other members are:

• Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con)
• Baroness Coussins (Crossbench)
• Lord Grocott (Lab)
• Lord Hannay of Chiswick (Crossbench)
• Baroness Helic (Con)
• Baroness Hilton of Eggardon (Lab)
• Lord Jopling (Con)
• Lord Purvis of Tweed (LibDem)
• Lord Reid of Cardowan (Lab)
• Baroness Smith of Newnham (LibDem)
• Lord Wood of Anfield (Lab)

Select Committee
Parliament

This morning, Robert Hannigan and Sir Mark Lyall-Grant will give evidence to the International Relations Committee.

The committee session will cover the foreign policy and national security issues facing the UK and the role of the National Security Council.

Mr Hannigan served as Director of GCHQ from 2014-17 and Sir Mark is the UK’s former National Security Adviser.

GCHQ is the intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing information to the government and the Armed Forces of the UK.

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Michael Gove warns against "loose talk" after Tory MPs openly discussed Theresa May's future.