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SNP spokesman Gavin Newlands says there has been a huge increase in requests for electronic data from social media companies, many of whom are based in California and such out of the jurisdiction of UK authorities. This highlights the need for the bill.

He expresses similar concerns to Nick Thomas-Symonds however regarding the death penalty and journalistic safeguards.

An ex-minister says publication could help dispel "mistrust" about the process of leaving the EU.

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Conservative MP Caroline Johnson says that as a pediatric consultant she has treated far too many child sexual abuse victims, and this bill would help prosecute this crime.

For that reason she completely supports it.

Six opposition parties have written to the Commons speaker John Bercow calling for him to give "precedence" to a motion accusing the government of being in contempt of Parliament because it hasn’t published the full legal advice on the Prime Minister's Brexit deal.

As well as Labour, the Liberal Democrats, SNP, Plaid Cymru, the Greens and the DUP have signed the letter. They say the government has not revealed "the final and full advice provided by the Attorney General to the cabinet".

The House of Commons voted in favour of a motion to that effect on 13 November.

The letter calls for the Speaker to "consider giving the House the opportunity to debate and consider this matter of contempt at the earliest opportunity."

In response to a point of order raised by shadow Attorney General Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Speaker said he would convey his decision to the House before it rises tonight, if possible.

The Attorney General is to write to the Speaker on the government's position.

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Shadow Home Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds says he very much accepts that electronic data is growing in importance, and the opposition supports the aims of the bill.

However he says there are aspects of the bill where there are concerns, such as on issues like bulk data, confidential records and non-disclosure. As such they will be pursuing this in committee stage.

There is a need for a death penalty assurance, he says, to ensure no data shared is used to prosecute in a case that leads to the death penalty. The bill could be used alongside a treaty as a basis of a reciprocal arrangement, he warns, with countries that do not share the UK's views on the death penalty.

There are also concerns around previously excluded journalistic material, and there should be nothing to restrict investigative journalism.

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Ben Wallace says the prosecution of criminals, including for child sex offences can currently involve working through long and bureaucratic processes, to which this bill "offers a much simpler and quicker alternative".

People can be especially vulnerable online, he says, yet many offences are committed on sites based abroad.

The current process means gathering evidence and data in cases can take years, and the bill is a "concrete step" which means authorities can do more to tackle crime, reducing processes to a matter of days and weeks.

The attorney general defends the PM's Brexit deal as MPs bid to force him to publish his full legal advice.

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Points of order conclude and MPs now turn to the second reading of Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Bill.

The bill would create a legal mechanism for international treaties which would allow UK law enforcement agencies to approach companies based in the US and possibly elsewhere, to obtain data on UK citizens in criminal proceedings.

It untangles some complications of international law, and is not especially controversial.

Home Office Minister Ben Wallace is opening the debate.

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In response to Nick Thomas-Symonds' initial point of order the attorney general raises his own.

Mr Cox tells the Speaker that he will be writing to him this evening on the government's position and asks him to consider that letter "in due course"

The speaker replies that he will "be interested to see any letter" and that it is important that matter is dealt with in a "timely fashion"

Following a further point of order from Labour MP Jim McMahon, the attorney general confirms that this letter will be available for MPs to see as well.

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Shadow solicitor general Nick Thomas-Symonds how the House should proceed in getting the publication of the full legal advice published to the Cabinet.

"Today's appearance by the attorney general does not comply with the motion of the house," he adds.

He says leaders of the opposition parties have written to the Speaker asking for a debate on whether this is a matter of contempt "at the earliest opportunity".

"The government have unprecedentedly decided to not comply with the unanimous decision of the House", he says, and suggests the government are "trying to waste time leading up to the meaningful vote".

The Speaker says he "will give it immediate decision as he leaves the chair, and will convey his decision to the house before it rises tonight, or if that proves impossible, at the earliest opportunity tomorrow".

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The Attorney General says he regrets the government not voting to oppose the motion demanding release of his final legal advice to cabinet.

He says he had no discussions with the chief whip on the matter.

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Tory MP Richard Drax says the attorney general's advice is "full of ambiguity, like I fear the political declaration will be in the future" and says this is not what the people want or deserve.

Geoffrey Cox says "we are going to leave on March 29 and will be in a fundamentally different position on March 30 - if we get there, and we have got to get there as this is what the British people wanted."

"This deal is the best means of doing it," he concludes.

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Independent MP Charlie Elphike calls for Theresa May to go back to Brussels and "form a termination date for the possible backstop".

The attorney general says he will struggle to answer this question as it is not of a legal nature.

Geoffrey Cox says "the word temporary is a clear indication that it cannot exist forever, and as a matter of European law, I believe it can't."

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Conservative MP Daniel Kawczynski asks how MPs can be expected to vote for a deal when it is not clear how much the UK will have to pay the EU to leave in all scenarios.

Mr Kawcynski questions if the potential amount "is worth it for a potential trade deal".

Geoffrey Cox says "it depends on a series of formulas, and in the case of a no deal, on a series of untested arguments which would be determined in a court".

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Labour MP Chris Williamson asks if the attorney general is prepared to be expelled for refusing to provide full legal advice to MPs.

Geoffrey Cox says he is "not in contempt of the house" and would not take this position if "it wasn't the right thing to do".

"I'm doing this not to frustrate the legitimate interests of the members who sit opposite me or behind me, it is not in the public interest," he says.

He adds that he feels "it is contrary to all of our interests" but that he "accepts the indignation of the House".

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The Attorney General Geoffrey Cox says the UK "would have obligations to pay a certain amount of money were we to leave the EU without a deal".

He says the House of Lords European Union Committee found that there was no obligation under EU law, but there may be an obligation under public international law.

"It is impossible to say how much money would need to be paid," he says.

However, Mr Cox notes that it "may be difficult to force the international obligation as the EU is not a state so cannot take the case to the Court of Justice".

"If we leave a club, we must pay the bar bill, and if we don't pay the bill we're unlikely to get a lot from the other side."

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Conservative MP Steve Baker says an amendment was tabled to the humble address which was "highly sympathetic" to the Attorney General's position, but it was not selected nor passed.

The Attorney General is under "an instruction" adds the Former Brexit Minister.

He asks if Mr Cox will move a motion to support his position.

Geoffrey Cox replies that this "may be a way forward" and that he will give the point consideration.

The Attorney General says he will write to the Speaker.

In an intervention, the Speaker says that only 21 bacbench questions have been asked during this statement so far - and we've been listening for over an hour.

All the same, this tweet from Andrea Leadsom appears to be direct criticism of the Speaker from the Leader of the House.

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Plaid Cymru Westminster Leader Liz Saville Roberts asks the attorney general to "learn from mistakes of the past" with the Iraq war, and publish the full advice.

Mr Cox says the legal advice on the Iraq War was published after the event, not during, and was on a question of the legality of the actions.

He adds that his advice "is no different to any other lawyers".