House of Commons
Parliament

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Lib Dem Wera Hobhouse says the government must accept that the UK cannot continue to enjoy the same prosperity as it has "enjoyed during 40 years of membership" of the EU if it leaves.

"Isn't it time that we come clean... there is a choice that we choose Brexit or choose prosperity."

Mr Raab says he doesn't "accept that sort of binary choice". He says MPs must respect the result of the referendum.

He says the government is seeking to achieve "the win-win of retaining our strong trading and security links with our EU partners" but also being able to trade more freely.

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative MP Steve Baker asks when the government will admit that the UK can leave the EU on an FTA basis so industry and movement laws can be controlled.

If the UK left both the single market and the customs union it could negotiate a free trade deal with the EU. A free trade area (FTA) is one where there are no tariffs or taxes or quotas on goods and/or services from one country entering another.

Secretary for Exiting the EU Dominic Raab says while it may be theoretically possible, "we can't do it and have a deal".

He reminds Steve Baker that the EU "aren't offering us Canada, Super Canada or FTA", and what Mr Baker is suggesting is a shortcut to a no deal.

House of Commons
Parliament

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The DUP's Westminster leader Nigel Dodds says the prime minister has given commitments about creating no new border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. The PM also committed that the UK - including Northern Ireland - will leave the customs union and the single market, he says.

He asks whether Dominic Raab stands by that.

Mr Raab needs to understand that as the DUP "we will not tolerate" anything that separates the Northern Ireland from the UK, Mr Dodds says.

"It's why we had the debacle in December, let's not repeat that mistake."

Dominic Raab says the government intends to honour all the commitments made in December.

House of Commons
Parliament

Chair of the Exiting the EU Committee Hilary Benn says the "outstanding issue" in the negotiations is agreeing a "legally operable and sound backstop to an open border in Northern Ireland".

"Given that the backstop, if it is used, will have to last until such time as another agreement is reached that achieves the same outcome," he asks "how on earth a backstop can be limited by artificial time limit?"

Mr Raab says: "The point about the backstop is that we hope it will never be used. If it is required, it should be for a temporary limited period.

"There's no deal until we've got the whole deal - and that includes not just the withdrawal agreement and the protocol on Northern Ireland, but clear steps and a clear pathway towards the future relationship that will provide the lasting and sustainable answer on the Northern Ireland issue."

House of Commons
Parliament

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Conservative MP Ken Clarke asks if the Brexit secretary can assure that if the UK moves a little bit closer to the EU's position, the EU will move a little closer to ours in other ways.

Dominic Raab says "our proposals deliberately deliver on securing the best possible trading relationship and we have set out clearly the ambition and pragmatism of the proposals. We expect the EU to move in our position and to secure a deal."

SNP's Europe Spokesperson Peter Grant says we still do not know what the government intends to propose on the Northern Ireland issue to the EU.

"We're running out of time, we need answers very very quickly," he says.

Peter Grant calls for Chequers to be taken off the table and for a new plan to be tried again.

"We welcome the additional support of citizens' rights, but these citizens' rights wouldn't have been under threat had the government not decided to come out of the single market."

In response, the Brexit secretary says "we will not allow any proposals from the EU to draw a customs line down the Irish Sea.

"If you stay members of the customs union and the single market, as the member well knows, you're not really leaving the EU," he says.

What's Chequers?

PM Theresa May set out her proposals for negotiation with the EU, including the key issue of cross-border trade, after a Chequers summit in July, but it has been fiercely criticised by some Brexiteers who say plans for a "common rulebook" on goods would compromise the UK's sovereignty.

House of Commons
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Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab responds to Keir Starmer, saying the prime minister "would not normally update the House" after summits, so criticism that she should have given today's statement is invalid.

He says this was also the case under the previous Labour government.

He adds that "we've always been clear that the aim of an agreement by the October council... could slip into November".

Mr Raab says the shadow Brexit secretary is "the prince of process", but can't ask a single question on the progress made. He says that Labour party conference highlighted that "Labour have trashed their promise to deliver on Brexit."

House of Commons
Parliament

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Keir Starmer, shadow secretary for exiting the EU, says the statement "would have been much better if it had come from the prime minister, it's no use hiding."

He says it should be up to Theresa May to let the House know what went wrong in the Salzburg negotiations.

He says the statement is "like Groundhog Day, we get the same old story" and asks for more details and a comprehensive plan.

"This House and the country deserve answers to serious questions, including a decision being reached by the October council next week," he says.

Keir Starmer asks Dominic Raab to confirm when a decision will be confirmed.

"Ten months later and all we're hearing is that the government will update us with progress on the Irish backstop issue in due course, can the government promise that an update will be given by next week?" he says.

Mr Starmer notes that rumours of a UK-wide customs union being proposed as part of the backstop offer are rife, and questions if this government policy.

"If it's not no deal, it will be a vague deal, asking us to jump into the unknown - Labour will not support that.

"No government has the right to plunge the country into chaos because of its own failing," he says.

BBC News Channel

The BBC's Vicki Young says what was interesting was that there was little new in the statement, and that the government is in a "holding pattern", possibly ahead of new announcements next week.

She says it is interesting that Keir Starmer was calling for a change of tack from the PM too, reminding the audience that former Brexit secretary David Davis has written to fellow Tory MPs calling for a reset of the Brexit strategy, and for a looser, free-trade arrangement.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Dominic Raab is now giving a statement on negotiations with the EU on Brexit, which he says have "continued and intensified".

The Brexit secretary says:

• On the withdrawal agreement, negotiators are "closing in on workable solutions on the remaining issues".
• On Northern Ireland, the government "remains committed to a backstop solution". He stresses that "we will not accept anything that threatens the constitutional and economic integrity of the United Kingdom". What the EU had proposed, he says, in the form of separate regulatory barriers "is not acceptable".
• On Salzburg, he says "we understand the the EU raised some concerns". But he insists that "UK white paper proposals are the best way to ensure there is a continued action in goods after we leave the EU."

He says it is time for the EU to match the ambition and pragmatism "that we have shown". He urges them to "step up".

He adds that the government is preparing for all eventualities.

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative MP Philip Hollobone thanks the secretary of state for delivering a "cold dose of common sense and reality in terms of how aid is best resourced."

He says a poor family living in a tin shack would not care whether the aid they were receiving from the UK was from the public or private purse.

Labour MP Wes Streeting says that Penny Mordaunt's speech has simply been an appeal to the right wing of the Conservative party to support her as a future leader.

Penny Mordaunt says "aid policies will deliver a vision for the future for third world countries."

House of Commons
Parliament

The question to the Secretary of State for International Development, Penny Mordaunt, is about plans to use private investments to make up government commitment on overseas aid.

What are the key points?

• Penny Mordaunt wants profits from development projects to be included in the UK commitment to spending 0.7% of national income on aid
• Labour said viewing global poverty as an "investment opportunity" was an "outrageous distortion"
• Ms Mordaunt told a news conference that redefining what counts as aid spending could contribute to "reducing the ask on the public purse"
• CDC, a body funded by the Department for International Development to invest in companies to boost job creation across Africa and South Asia, says "making a financial return means we can recycle the money into new investments, to create jobs and pay taxes beyond our involvement"
• Penny Mordaunt wants to change the international rule which dictates that this re-investment does not count towards the UK's 0.7% foreign aid commitment, which is enshrined in law.

House of Commons
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Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle echoes his party colleague Luciana Berger in asking for a commitment that the government sees the "0.7% as a floor, and not a cap".

He suggests the government may be looking to reduce the amount of Treasury spending that goes into international aid, using profits from investment to save money rather than maximising the impact.

Ms Mordaunt insists that "this is about levering more in", and is "not about doctoring the purity of aid... it's about changing people's lives and saving lives".

Select Committee
Parliament

With the change of witnesses, we're leaving this committee for now.

At 6pm, we'll be looking at the debate on the cost of school uniforms in Westminster Hall, followed by the debate on modern slavery at 6:30pm.

House of Commons
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Labour MP Janet Daby asks what scrutiny is taking place to determine what positive impacts on development private investments are having on poorer countries.

Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake says that private investments may not "deliver as much bang for your buck" in terms of aid.

Secretary of State for International Development Penny Mordaunt says she set a new higher spending bar for the department because "we have a duty that money is spent well and better than ever before".

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt says Theresa May has her "full support" over Brexit.

House of Commons
Parliament

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International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt says she "remains committed to 0.7%", but wants to ensure the British public get a triple return.

Labour MP Kate Osamor says "the public have been betrayed by a government that sees global poverty as a lucrative investment opportunity".

Ms Mordaunt says: "We are not going to deliver the global goals unless we let the private sector do more.

"We need the private sector to lift people out of poverty, they are the ones that can close this gap."

SNP's Patrick Grady says "this kind of backsliding on international aid and 0.7% undermines U.K. global leadership".