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Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald says the awarding of the ferry contract to Seaborne Freight has been a "fiasco", and lays bare "total incompetence".

Chris Grayling repeats that due diligence was carried out on the firm, and that nothing will be paid until the service is delivered.

Mr McDonald suggests the government may face a "variety of legal challenges" from other providers as the truth emerges about the awarding of the contract.

He says the government has admitted the company won't be able to operate the Ramsgate route until late April - despite previous suggestions otherwise - and is therefore in default of contract.

He urges the contract to be cancelled "without delay".

The transport secretary insists the government will hold the company to "all terms of their contract".

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Labour's Lilian Greenwood, who chairs the transport committee, says there are reports ministers have held talks with rail freight companies to ensure supplies of food and medicines in the event of a no-deal Brexit, with the potential for emergency rail timetables as a result.

She asks if the department is really contemplating this, and whether rail commuters should be "bracing themselves" for possible disruption.

Mr Grayling says the reports are "untrue".

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SNP MP Tommy Sheppard asks what is being done to reduce potential disruption at ports in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

He says there is some scepticism among MPs about the preparations - questioning whether it's a case of "abject incompetence" or the department not taking the issue seriously.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling says his department has been working for some time on this, working with others to prepare for all eventualities.

The SNP should welcome the additional opportunities being offered to Scottish businesses as a result, he adds.

Another SNP MP, Martyn Day, questions how due diligence of a firm given a contract to run ferry services during a no-deal Brexit did not flag up issues around the company, including its negative equity.

Mr Grayling stresses that due diligence was carried out on Seaborne Freight, and the company will not receive public money until the ferries are in operation.

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Labour MP John Spellar raises the recent disruption at Gatwick and Heathrow airports caused by drone sightings.

He asks whether there were contingency plans already agreed for such an instance, and why they didn't work if there were.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling says the "disruptive attack" was "unprecedented around the world", with a number of countries since approaching the UK to learn more about how to respond to such events.

He says he can't discuss the nature of the technology used for security reasons, but MPs will notice that when the issue arose at Heathrow "the response was very rapid indeed".

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Labour MP Peter Kyle kicks things off, asking transport ministers about simplifying rail fare structures.

He says this still hasn't happened, despite promises over a year ago that it would "rapidly" take place.

Transport Minister Andrew Jones says the government has committed to reviewing fare structures, and part of the review has already started. Further steps are being taken this year, he adds.

Hello and welcome to our coverage of events today at Westminster.

In the Commons business will be getting underway shortly, when Transport Secretary Chris Grayling faces a scheduled question session from MPs.

After this, Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom will announce next week’s parliamentary timetable in the House of Commons.

After that, it's the main business as MPs continue their debate on the government's Brexit deal, ahead of the big vote scheduled for next week.

The day concludes with Tory MP John Howell's adjournment debate on the Europa School Culham.

Members of Parliament (MPs) will vote next week on the Brexit deal that Prime Minister Theresa May has negotiated.

MPs vote to force the PM to announce new Brexit plans within three days if her deal fails in the Commons.

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That’s it for our coverage of the Commons today as MPs move on to the adjournment debate, tonight led by Labour MP Luke Pollard on basing arrangements for the Royal Marines.

The day began with International Development questions, followed by PMQs.

For over an hour after, MPs took issue with the Speaker’s decision to accept Tory Dominic Grieve's amendment to the meaningful vote timetabling motion.

The Commons then voted in favour of the change, requiring the government to now return to Parliament within three days, rather than 21, to debate the implications of not having a Brexit deal - if the deal is voted down next Tuesday.

Many MPs argued that the decision by John Bercow to accept this amendment for debate was unprecedented and places big question marks over his impartiality and the dignity of the Speaker’s Office.

We’ll be back tomorrow at 9.30am with Transport questions, before Andrea Leadsom lays out the business for the week ahead in the Business Statement.

After that, MPs will continue to debate the EU Withdrawal Agreement.

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The DUP's Westminster Leader Nigel Dodds intervenes to ask Mr Lidington what has changed since the vote was abandoned in December, as he is "frustrated" that his arguments have all been stressed before and that Mr Lidington's arguments are simply saying "to forget about Brexit".

Mr Lidington says Theresa May will close the debate on Tuesday and will discuss the assurances in more detail, adding that "this deal is one that people who voted to leave and people who voted to remain should be able to accept."

It is no coincidence that the Northern Ireland business community is vocally and overwhelmingly in favour of this deal, he adds.

Intervening for a second time, Mr Dodds says it is "a gross offence of democracy" to have rules for "large parts of our economy" set by people other than the House and the Northern Ireland Assembly.

He reminds Mr Lidington that regulatory differences are extremely small in number and instituted with the democratic will of the assembly in Northern Ireland for the purposes of controlling animal health, "not because we are under a different regime for goods or agrifoods".

Closing his speech, Mr Lidington says that "compromise in politics is not an insult", and urges all MPs to back the prime minister's deal.

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Closing the first day of debate on the EU Withdrawal Agreement, Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington says the Withdrawal Agreement is "the unavoidable gateway to a future relationship".

He says postponing Article 50's deadline will not help as "the EU 27 will not suddenly open detailed negotiations about the nature of the future partnership until we are actually leaving."

If the House wants to avoid a no-deal, they must support the withdrawal agreement "that provides for a smooth and orderly exit".

A no-deal Brexit would cause profound and possibly irreversible damage to the Union of the United Kingdom, Mr Lidington says.

The backstop is an uncomfortable situation for the UK, but an uncomfortable one for the EU too, he says, reiterating that it is only a temporary arrangement.

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Shadow Northern Ireland secretary Tony Lloyd is winding up today's debate on behalf of the opposition, expressing regret that Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley is not concluding for the government as originally planned.

The idea of a no deal Brexit would be "a danger for the people in Northern Ireland, the people of Ireland and the people in Great Britain as well", he says.

He says he understands why the backstop was put in the agreement and says Labour recognise the need for one, but what is "regrettable" is that the agreement proposes "regulatory misalignment", with "nothing new" in today's proposals.

If the deal is rejected, as he predicts, he says there needs to be a consensus built on how the country moves forwards.

"This present deal divides people," he says. "We've got to get back to a more rational politics that builds hope for the future."

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SNP MP Gavin Newlands says it seems clear to him that it is now only "a minority" of the public that want to leave the EU.

70% of Scots would vote to remain if they were given another vote, he says.

Mr Newlands says most Labour voters would like Jeremy Corbyn to commit to a second referendum "but he stubbornly refuses to do so".

The view that a no-deal is closest to what the British public voted for is "utterly ridiculous", he adds, saying that not enough was done "to stand up for the EU and the rights of freedom of movement".

"We will not be forced to choose between chaos and disaster," he says, calling for Scottish independence.

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Only opposition MPs appear to be now looking to speak in the debate today, with Labour MP Liz McInnes next up.

The decision to delay the vote "just wasted 30 days", she says, uniting both remainers and leavers in her constituency in opposition to the PM's "botched deal".

Both sides are now urging her to vote against the deal, she says, but this rejection does not give the government license to crash out without one.

Labour's six tests "merely set out what was promised during the referendum", she says.

"When the Tories mock our six tests is it actually the electorate they’re pouring scorn on?"

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Labour MP Gareth Thomas says suspension of Article 50 needs to be considered "for at least 12 months", along with another referendum.

"Ths is a bad deal for Britain, and the government knows that as well as the rest of us," he says. "The poorest in our country will be the most at risk."

Food price hikes, transport delays and an uncertain economy are all concerns with Brexit, he adds, "companies are already transferring assets and jobs."

Trade deals will not be easy to agree, he says, "every trade deal will require the UK to grant immigration access to that country", whilst concerns from the Home Affairs committee about security post-Brexit should be taken seriously.

It is not against democracy to go back to the people, he says: "it would be elitist to think that we know best."

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Labour MP Owen Smith says the deal will "make our people poorer" and cede sovereignty from the UK to the EU, "a deeply ironic state of affairs considering what was promised".

Brexit "is a retreat from the globe", he says: "an abdication of our responsibility within the continent of Europe".

Claims of Brexit creating a "global Britain" are "facile" and unrealistic, he says, whilst "stop the world I want to get off" is "not a practical political perspective".

"Building walls never works because the people eventually smash them down."

He calls on his own party to oppose Brexit - "there is no jobs first Brexit...Brexit will eat the jobs and eat the capital that the incoming Labour government will need to implement its policies". He says they must now delay Article 50 and back a 'People's Vote' on the deal.

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SNP MP Carol Monaghan says many of her constituents have changed from leave supporters to remain supporters since the referendum.

She says the public have lost faith in the government, with many of her constituents also saying they now support Scottish independence, despite opposing it previously.

Her biggest concern with the deal is the removal on freedom of movement, which she says is vital to a successful society.

"I have great concern about the salary thresholds for individuals wanting to come and work in this country," she adds.

She says she will not be voting for the deal as "there have been no answers on the availability of certain medical supplies post-Brexit, because it will harm universities, and fundamentally because of the removal of freedom of movement which we hold so dear."

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Labour MP Sharon Hodgson raises the recent abuse of MPs outside Parliament, and points to the Brexit debate as the cause: "I worry that the genie is out of the bottle".

She says she has recently received a threat that she is "a traitor and should be hung for treason", just for opposing a no-deal Brexit. The threat wasn't even made anonymously, which proves her point further.

Despite voting to remain, her constituents voted to leave and she has taken care to listen to them and their concerns, she says: "It is astonishingly clear according to a survey of constituents very few people would like me to vote for this deal."

The deal offers none of the things that they were promised, she says, and she will be voting against it.

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Conservative MP Colin Clark says he listened to Sir Keir Starmer's speech closely, and about Labour's desire for a customs union and a close relationship with the EU, but is still unsure what Labour's alternative plan is.

He urges members on both sides to support the deal which he says will boost the economy and provide security for businesses and jobs.

He says it is time that MPs realised this and voted in favour of the deal.