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Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable says the prime minister has lost all authority and his party would fully support a motion of no confidence in the government if called by the Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn.

He asks how many European heads of state that the PM has spoken to have indicated that the backstop is "dispensable".

Theresa May says it's widely agreed that there should be a backstop, but the concern is the "question of permanence or otherwise" and the focus is ensuring it would not continue indefinitely.

EU leaders are open to discussions to find a way to provide a way of making it acceptable, she says.

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Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith asks if the prime minister agrees that "it is incumbent on her and the government go forward boldly and commit to saying to the EU they need to reopen the withdrawal agreement and insert into it a commitment to an open border and to take out restrictions that remove the power and control from this Parliament to decide its future."

Theresa May says the EU "are clear about the temporary nature of the backstop" but it is "right that we should go boldly back to the EU on these issues".

She says the government are "rigorously and robustly negotiating with the EU", which has resulted in a number of changes to the agreement, but "those assurances have not been sufficient for members of this House".

Theresa May says "nothing should be off the table - but everyone should be clear that issues may be reopened."

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The SNP's economy spokesperson Kirsty Blackman says that the pulling of tomorrow's vote is an act of "pathetic cowardice" and accuses Theresa May of "abdicating her responsibility".

She says that her deal gives the UK further uncertainty, she asks why it has taken the PM "so long" to "face up to reality".

She adds that it is "clear" that the prime minister is "incapable of making decisions about the future".

"She knows that she's lost but she is still wasting precious time," she states. She says the only way to fix the problem is to "put it to the people".

Mrs May says the deal is "good for the whole of the United Kingdom" and she states that she is "deferring the vote" and will be holding further discussions with the EU.

"It is important to honour the result of the referendum," she says, adding that it is the "duty of members of this House" to do so, too.

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Father of the House Ken Clarke says "this House is not just divided into parties, it is divided into factions, and at the moment there is no majority for any single course of action going forwards."

He says "no other governments are going to start negotiations with the UK on any new arrangement whilst the British continue to explore what exactly it is that they can get a parliamentary majority to agree to."

"We are rightly bound to the Good Friday agreement," he adds, noting that it is "particularly folly for a large faction of this House to continue for an argument that Britain should have a unilateral right to declare an end to that open border at a time of their choosing".

"This is why the backstop remains inevitable," Mr Clarke says.

On the backstop issue, Theresa May says "none of the alternative arrangements that have been floated in this House would command a majority."

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Speaker John Bercow says that although the intention to halt the debate has been "widely leaked in advance", he thought it appropriate to hear what was said by the PM before giving his opinion.

Halting the Brexit debate "after no fewer than 164 colleagues" have already spoken would be considered "deeply discourteous", he says, something many have expressed to him "in the most forceful terms".

Having taken procedural advice, he says there are two options:

• The first, which he says would be preferable, would be that a minister move at the beginning of the debate that it be adjourned. This would give MPs the opportunity to vote and give its view. He says he would accept that motion.
• The alternative would be for the government to "decline to move" the day's business, which would "deprive" MPs the opportunity to give a view.

"In any courteous, respectful and mature environment" he says letting MPs have a say "would be the right and obvious court to take".

He points out that ministers have assured the public over and over again that the vote will take place on Tuesday, adding that they may "wish to rise to the occasion".

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Theresa May says Jeremy Corbyn appears to argue that it is not possible to change the deal as the EU says this is the only deal on the table "and on the other hand that the only thing he would accept was the deal being negotiated".

"The fundamental question that members of the House have to ask themselves is whether they wish to deliver Brexit and honour the result of the referendum," she says, "and if they want to deliver Brexit, all the analysis shows that the deal that does this best is the deal on the table."

She says Jeremy Corbyn wants to be in the single market "which would mean free movement would have to be accepted", and that he wants foreign trade deals "but being inside the customs union would not enable us to negotiate trade deals."

"The biggest uncertainty for British businesses lie not in this deal, but on the front bench of the Labour party," she concludes.

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The government is in disarray, Mr Corbyn says, with uncertainty rising for businesses and ordinary people panicked and concerned.

The fault of this lies at the door of "this shambolic government", he says.

If she doesn't take on board the fundamental changes required, he calls for the PM to make way for those that can.

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Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn says "we are in an extremely serious and unprecedented situation" and accuses the government of being in "complete disarray".

He says it has been apparent "for weeks" that the deal would not be satisfactory to the Commons, yet the vote was pulled at the last minute.

He says the Irish Taoiseach has said there can be no changes made to the backstop. He asks if the deal in "front of this House" is not "off the table" but is instead being brought back later on.

"This is a bad deal for Britain, a bad deal for our economy, and a bad deal for our democracy," Mr Corbyn states.

He says that if the prime minister cannot negotiate an acceptable deal then "she must make way". He adds that the PM must work on building consensus in the Commons.

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Theresa May says "the vast majority accept the referendum result and want to leave with a deal, and we have a responsibility to discharge."

"If we will the ends, we must always will the means," she says.

The prime minister says she is "grateful to those who have backed the deal" and that she has "listened" and "heard the concerns" and "will do everything I can to secure further assurance" on the backstop.

She tells MPs who want to stay in the single market or want to leave with no deal to be “upfront” about consequences.

Theresa May says from the moment of the referendum two and a half years ago, even though she voted to remain "I knew the moment I took up the responsibility as prime minister that my duty was to honour the vote."

"I am determined to do everything I can to get the reassurances this deal requires and to deliver for the British people," she concludes.

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Theresa May says it is clear that if MPs want to deliver Brexit - which is met by shouts of "no!" from the SNP - they need to ask whether they want to do this by reaching an agreement with the EU.

If the answer is yes, she says, then no "enduring and successful" Brexit deal can be reached without some compromise on both sides.

Those who continue to disagree need to "shoulder the responsibility" of advocating an alternative, she says, and do so "without ducking the responsibilities".

MPs need to be honest that a second referendum risks dividing the country again, she says, "when as a House we should be striving to bring it together".

She says those calling for the UK to leave the EU without a deal, need to be up front that this would cause significant disruption for ordinary people.

None of the alternatives to a Brexit deal would win a majority in the House of Commons, she says.

There is more from DUP leader Arlene Foster.

She says the withdrawal agreement was "fundamentally flawed" and would have undermined the UK's economy.

"The backstop would have left Northern Ireland trapped as a hostage to the European Union," she adds.

"It is not needed. No one is building a hard border between Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland."