Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Labour MP Chris Leslie says that the reality of Brexit "has been a bit harsh" for the secretary of state.

"Has it?" replies Dr Fox, adding that he thinks leaving the EU is "twice as right now".

Mr Leslie says the government's Brexit is a "blindfold concept" and that the UK does not know what the European relationship is going to be as it has still to be negotiated.

He asks if the secretary of state's department will be negotiating the EU trade arrangement.

Liam Fox says that is for the Department for the Exiting the EU.

He adds trade policy is only part of his department's remit; it's main work is in exports and investment.

"Expectation has been part of your problem," says the MP and recommends, in regard to trade deals, Dr Fox "dampens expectation for the country".

House of Lords
Parliament

Image source, HoL

Business in the Lords begins with a debate on the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement led by Leader of the House of Lords, Baroness Evans.

Baroness Evans says "voting against this deal will result in uncertainty" and that the deal is "good for our economy, for creating jobs and for future trade deals".

She reminds peers that they have so far spent "an important" 414 hours and 15 minutes debating issues relevant to Brexit.

"It is right that our opinions should be put on record before members of the other House vote next Tuesday," she adds.

Baroness Evans says the backstop "is not a trick to trap us in the EU by the back door, and if it was ever to be used it would give us access to the EU's markets without our current obligations".

"There is no alternative on the table and this agreement provides for an orderly exit and the bright future of our country," she adds, "we must deliver the will of the people."

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Labour's Faisal Rashid asks if the Brexit agreement vote does not get through Parliament is there a Plan B.

The international trade secretary says the government's plan is to get its vote through the House of Commons and will not going to get into "hypotheticals before the vote".

The MP says he is worried and it would be "normal" for the government to have a contingency plan.

Dr Fox recommends he votes for the government's plan.

What does the secretary of state mean by a "danger of no Brexit"? Mr Rashid asks

Liam Fox says it is clear there is lobby in the House of Commons to keep the UK in the customs union, and it is "alive and well".

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Labour's Matt Western asks why the international trade secretary did not resign like his former colleague Dominic Raab.

Dr Liam Fox replies "he didn't agree" with his assessment and adds that Britain should leave in a "stable and ordered way".

The alternatives, he says, are politically unsustainable or economically damaging.

Mr Western then asks about the proposed "single customs territory" and asks what the implication are for his department in concluding UK trade deals.

Dr Fox explains that there were changes were made to the phrasing in the final political declaration that protects the UK single market and future independent policy.

It "makes a difference to interpretation", he adds.

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Conservative MP Ranil Jayawardena says Britain has an "amazing opportunity" to become "a beacon of free trade".

He asks should the UK not be "locking down" a trade deal with the EU before we throw away our "ace card" by handing over £39bn.

Dr Liam Fox replies the UK has to maintain "good access" to the European market as it is still 45% of export in good and services, and maximise opportunity to take advantage of growing markets.

"Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed," he adds.

Mr Jayawardena replies that legally the withdrawal agreement would be enforceable but the political declaration would not be.

The UK will want assurances before we bring the legislation forward, Liam Fox replies.

The Conservative MP asks if Dr Fox believes any part of the agreement or declaration would "hold Britain back" from doing deals with other countries.

The backstop is "calculated risk", replies Liam Fox and adds the Irish government would not take part in negotiations otherwise.

He says the backstop is "necessary for the reassurance of the modern nationalist community in Northern Ireland".

Front-page headlines record a "historic" day of turmoil in the Commons for Prime Minister Theresa May.

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Conservative MP Nigel Evans says he has "more chance of winning BBC Bake-Off than the prime minister has of winning this vote on Tuesday".

The international trade secretary has "eaten a lot of pizza" over the last few weeks, he adds.

Dr Liam Fox replies that "he hasn't eaten any pizza" and assumes the MP's comment isn't about his weight.

The Conservative MP asks what his advice would be give to the PM if she loses the vote.

Liam Fox replies that any advice would be given in private.

"When your in prison and someone offers you a key you take it," he says.

"We are being offered a prison cell," says Nigel Evans

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, HoC

The committee gets underway. The chair Angus Brendan MacNeil asks is "Brexit going as well as you imagined".

"Ask me next Tuesday," quips the International Trade Secretary.

Mr MacNeil then asks which way Dr Fox would like the vote on the Brexit deal to go.

Liam Fox replies that he wants the government's deal to go through and adds that there is "a real danger" that the House of Common "may attempt to steal Brexit from the British people which I think would be a democratic affront".

The SNP chair asks how he would characterise "no deal".

Dr Fox then says that would be "sup-optimal" to the prime minister's deal. He tells the committee that he does not think Parliament has any intention of letting no deal happen.

Leaving the EU is better than staying, says the International Trade Secretary, for constitutional reasons, "we should be masters of our destiny".

Select Committee
Parliament

You can watch the International Trade Committee session with Secretary Liam Fox here or by using the tab at the top of the screen above.

Select Committee
Parliament

The committee session is starting now. On the committee are:

• Angus Brendan MacNeil (Chair) - Scottish National Party
• Mr Nigel Evans - Conservative
• Mr Marcus Fysh - Conservative
• Sir Mark Hendrick - Labour (Co-op)
• Mr Ranil Jayawardena - Conservative
• Mr Chris Leslie - Labour (Co-op)
• Emma Little Pengelly - Democratic Unionist Party
• Julia Lopez - Conservative
• Faisal Rashid - Labour
• Catherine West - Labour
• Matt Western - Labour

You can find out more about the committee and its work here., external

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, AFP/ GETTY IMAGES

The International Trade Committee is questioning the Secretary of State on the Prime Minister’s Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration with the European Union. The session is to cover how far the Brexit deal will limit his ability to negotiate and implement Free Trade Agreements with countries outside of the EU.

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox has previously said he hopes the UK will have 40 trade arrangements with 70 countries in place by the end of the Brexit transition period in 2020. His department will aim to “roll over” existing EU agreements.

Minister for Trade Policy, George Hollingbery, told the committee last week that not all agreements would be rolled-over in time for Brexit.

Dr Liam Fox is supportive of Theresa May’s Brexit deal.

Welcome to our coverage of another busy day in Westminster.

Ahead - PMQs at noon, followed by the continued debate on the prime minister's proposed Brexit deal.

We'll be covering it all here.

Ministers lose votes on legal advice and role of MPs as PM insists EU deal is "honourable compromise".

With the first day of debate on the EU withdrawal deal now wrapped up, we'll be leaving our coverage there for today.

Remember, you can watch live and recorded coverage of the Commons and the Lords on BBC Parliament should you wish.

And for all the day's news, where the government suffered three defeats in the Commons over the Brexit legal advice row, and over an amendment proposed by Conservative MP Dominic Grieve, read more here:

Theresa May suffers three Brexit defeats in Commons

We'll be back for more tomorrow, with PMQs at midday as usual, followed by more debate on the proposed EU withdrawal agreement.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Making his first speech in Parliament since being appointed Brexit Secretary, Stephen Barclay wraps up the day's debate.

Membership of the EEA would require free movement of people and not deliver on the result of the referendum, he says, while the Canada option would not ensure continued access to markets the UK currently enjoys.

The only way to guarantee commitments to prevent a hard border in Northern Ireland is through the backstop agreement, he says. MPs must never forget the importance of ensuring the lives of Northern Irish people continue without disruption.

It's important MPs do not lose sight of what the deal will enable Parliament to deliver, he says. The referendum was the biggest vote in the UK's democratic history.

The debate now concludes for the day and will be resumed tomorrow ("or indeed today", as the Speaker points out).

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Shadow Brexit minister Paul Blomfield says Labour campaigned to remain, but recognise that their side lost the referendum. It didn't need to be like this, he says.

The prime minister's proposed deal fails Labour's six tests, which were based on the government's own goals, he tells MPs.

He says that the prime minister should have reached out to the majority in Parliament, who would have accepted a sensible Brexit. The mandate of referendum was to end our membership of the EU, but not to "rupture our relationship".

The government's narrative has changed, he adds, with those who spent the past two years saying "no deal is better than a bad deal" now say that this bad deal is better than no deal.

"The public will not forgive those that vote for a damaging Brexit on a false prospectus," he says.

Immigration was used as a driving force behind Brexit, but more immigrants come from outside the EU than within it, he points out, and the number of non-EU migrants has risen since the referendum.

That the long promised Immigration White Paper has still not been published is "a disgrace".

"The government is asking MPs to drive the country off a cliff edge," he says, "and we will not do it."

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

"Even the dogs in the street know that this deal will not pass," SNP MP Tommy Sheppard says, yet the government pushes on. They have prioritised internal party politics over the good of the country, he says.

"This is a masterclass in how not to do politics, and at the heart of it is a fundamental disrespect for those that hold a different opinion."

The approach taken by the government of the United Kingdom will damage the union, and end it far sooner than than the SNP ever could, he says.

"When you're in a hole, stop digging", he says: the time is to look at the alternatives.

"The alternative is not to leave without a deal, the alternative is to not leave at all."