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Shadow chancellor John McDonnell says the government's Brexit deal is "neither politically or economically acceptable", and "will not unite divisions in the country".

He says under Labour's plan, the UK be in a permanent and "comprehensive" customs union with the EU, and have a “strong collaborative relationship" with the single market.

He pledges that Labour will "work assiduously to avoid a no-deal Brexit".

Ministers threatening a no-deal exit "serve only to reveal the desperation in government", he adds.

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Former First Minister of Northern Ireland, Lord Trimble - who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his part in negotiating the Good Friday Agreement - echoes the comments of Lord Bew yesterday, external, which he urges peers to go back and read.

The people that drew up the backstop arrangement, he says, did not understand the Good Friday Agreement and are "deeply imbued" in a different way of approaching things.

The issue is that the backstop is "top-down" and deprives the people from having a say, he adds.

It is not a democratic process, he says, and therefore "undermines the Good Friday Agreement".

He tells peers:

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Continuing, Philip Hammond says another EU referendum would "fuel a narrative of betrayal which would undermine the consent on which our politics is based".

He tells MPs the government's withdrawal agreement offers the chance to avoid entering the Irish border backstop by extending the transition period - which would be his preference.

He says future free trade deals will not "compensate us fully" for the loss of trade with the EU that would result from leaving without a deal.

Philip Hammond accuses Labour of believing in a "magic deal", adding: "the time for trying to have your cake and eat it has passed".

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Lib Dem Baroness Kramer says some people are worried that a further referendum which overturned the original decision to leave the EU would cause great anger.

However, she says, people who worry about this should also consider the anger of those "denied" the chance to prevent the "chaos" of Brexit if there isn't another vote.

To ignore them, and with that the chance to avoid "catastrophe", would be even more disastrous, she argues.

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Opening the debate, Chancellor Philip Hammond says the government's Brexit deal will "minimise" the economic costs of leaving the EU.

The agreement, he says, is a "sensible compromise" in a nation that is "divided".

Leaving the without a deal would make the UK the only "advanced economy" that would trade with the EU simply on World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms, he says.

The government's deal is "the best deal that is available, or that is going to be available", he tells MPs.

"The idea that there is an option of renegotiating at the eleventh hour is simply a delusion".

The former foreign secretary says there was no intention to mislead the House as he apologies for late reporting of £52,000 of earnings.

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Labour's Lord Murphy of Torfaen criticises Lord Hunt's suggestion that it is Labour who have failed to act in the national interest, arguing the Tories have prioritised internal party politics throughout.

The Brexit deal is "doomed", he says, because of the failure to recognise the principles of the Good Friday Agreement in the negotiations.

This means the backstop proposals can never work and the whole deal will be nothing more than "a footnote of constitutional history", he says.

This would never have happened had the government tried harder to re-establish the Northern Ireland power sharing agreement, he adds.

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And over in the Lords...peers also begin their second day of debate on the Brexit deal.

Conservative Lord Hunt of Wirral is the first to speak, urging peers to "embrace the British tradition of compromise" and "warmly welcome" the withdrawal agreement.

Negotiating the UK's exit from the EU has been like "trying to remove the egg from an omelette", he says, and Theresa May has been "the epitome of the conscientious and rational politician at a time of rampant fundamentalism".

He upsets some Labour peers by suggesting their party has failed to act in the national interest and get behind the deal.

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The business statement comes to an end - MPs have now begun the third of the planned five days of debate on the government's Brexit deal.

Discussions today are meant to focus on the economic impact of the agreement - Chancellor Philip Hammond will open the debate for the government.

Last week the government released analysis which said the UK will be poorer economically under any form of Brexit, compared with staying in the EU.

However Theresa May said her deal was the best available which "allows us to honour the referendum" and "realise the opportunities of Brexit".

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Making a point of order, Boris Johnson makes an apology over nine "unexpected foreign royalties" recorded late on the register of member's interest.

The former Foreign Secretary had been ordered to apologise for failing to declare more than £52,000 in income from book royalties on time.

Parliament's Standards Commissioner has referred the case to the Committee on Standards to decide on a punishment for Mr Johnson.

The Conservative MP adds there was no intention to mislead MPs, but he admits it was a breach of House of Commons rules.

Speaker John Bercow says the Mr Johnson's promptness in apologising is appreciated.

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Liberal Democrat Lord Addington asks about the concerns expressed by Ofsted regarding special educational needs provision for children.

Education minister Lord Agnew of Oulton says the government is working to improve the quality of support in this area, and recognises there is pressure on budgets.

Labour's Lord Harris of Haringey says exclusion rates for children with special education needs are five times the rate of normal exclusion levels, a level Lord Agnew recognises is to high.

The government is commissioning a review of exclusions, he says, adding that schools will not get a 'good' or 'better' rating from Ofsted if they cannot explain unusual exclusion levels.

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Lib Dem Lord Foster of Bath asks about the recent agreement, external among EU states to allow super-reduced or zero VAT rates on e-books, as well as physical books.

He says hundreds of thousands of blind and partially sighted people rely on audio books and e-books whose font size can be adjusted to their needs.

Minister Lord Young of Crookham says ministers are looking at the issue, and a decision to change the VAT rate for e-books in the UK needs to be carefully considered first.

Labour peer Lord Davies of Oldham says the lower rate of VAT should be applied to e-books "with some degree of urgency".

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The day in the House of Lords gets underway with a question on the UK's withdrawal from the European External Action Service - the EU's diplomatic agency.

Foreign Office spokeswoman Baroness Goldie says the UK will be able to pursue an "independent" foreign policy after Brexit.

The rest of the world does not look at the UK "through the prism of part of the EU", she insists, but "as a sovereign state in its own right".

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The SNP's Pete Wishart says he hopes the Speaker John Bercow is not having "nightmares about big green chairs shouting 'meaningful vote'".

He says the government has found a "taste" for defeat, and it feels "like the end of Tory days" in the Commons at the moment.

He asks Andrea Leadsom to confirm that next Tuesday's vote on the Brexit deal will not be withdrawn, and she will not be "the Grinch of the House that stole Christmas".

Andrea Leadsom replies that the government has "not lost any votes" on "significant" legislation.

She says next Tuesday's vote on the Brexit deal will go ahead as planned.

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Shadow Commons leader Valerie Vaz notes that Andrea Leadsom has not announced the business for the final week before the Christmas break.

She asks whether the Commons is still due to rise on December 20 as planned - adding that there are "discussions around" that the date might be changed.

She also asks when the government's immigration white paper will be published.

Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom says the Commons will rise on December 20.

She says the immigration white paper is still "being finalised", but will be published "as soon as possible".

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Business in the House of Lords will begin shortly with oral questions, before peers continue their debate on the government's Brexit deal this afternoon.

Questions today cover Brexit's impact on the European External Action Service, terrorism in Nigeria, possible VAT changes for e-books and Ofsted's concerns around SEND education.

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That’s questions to Brexit ministers finished.

Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom has now joined MPs to announce forthcoming business in the House of Commons.

This announcement, called the business statement, traditionally takes place on Thursday mornings.

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Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer says that the prime minister promised in October that if the EU were not to co-operate on future relations, the UK should not be kept in the backstop indefinitely.

Stephen Barclay replies the EU must act in "good faith".

Sir Keir says the Attorney General's Brexit legal advice published yesterday says the backstop could "endure indefinitely" under international law.

Stephen Barclay replies that the Attorney General also said he did not believe the UK was "likely to be entrapped in the backstop permanently".

"It is about the balance of risk", he adds.

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Shadow Brexit minister Jenny Chapman says Labour's policy of a permanent customs union with the EU is supported by the TUC, the CBI and Engineering Employer Federation.

It is "obvious", she says, that there would be a majority for this policy in Parliament if the prime minister decided to support it.

Brexit Minister Kwasi Kwarteng says Theresa May's deal is supported by businesses, and will give them certainty by securing an ongoing relationship with the EU.

Staying in a permanent customs union with the EU would "destroy" the UK's ability to follow an independent trade policy and is "unambitious", he adds.