Three Conservative MPs, Anna Soubry, Heidi Allen and Sarah Wollaston, have resigned from the Conservative party to join the Independent Group.

The letter has been tweeted and signed by all three MPs.

Sky News

Image source, Get

George Galloway has told Sky News he has applied to rejoin the Labour Party.

The former MP defended Jeremy Corbyn, saying claims of anti-Semitism made by the MPs who have quit the party, were a “lie”.

And he said he had written to Labour's general secretary Jennie Formby to ask her to rescind his expulsion.

Mr Galloway was expelled from the party in 2003 over outspoken comments on the Iraq war.

A disciplinary hearing found he had brought Labour into disrepute for “inciting Arabs to fight British troops”.

Mr Galloway denied this, saying it was a “show trial” and vowing to “make sure Tony Blair regrets this day”.

He returned to the Commons at the 2005 as leader of the anti-war Respect party, after defeating a Labour candidate in Bethnal Green and Bow.

He won another victory against Labour in the 2012 Bradford West by-election but lost the seat at the 2015 general election.

Helen Catt
Political editor, BBC South East

Labour could lose control of Brighton and Hove City Council, with the defection of Anne Meadows to the Conservative party.

I'll have an exclusive interview on BBC South East on BBC1 at 13:30 GMT.

Joan Ryan says she cannot remain in a party which tolerates a "culture of anti-Jewish racism".

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

We are all a quiver here at Westminster because the signs are we are going to see a clutch of Tories abandoning ship.

I was told by one person (who should know) to be on standby mode.

If we do get two, three, maybe four joining this new independent group, that would be a significant moment because, at the moment, they are kind of the anti-Corbyn club.

Were they to attract some Tories, it creates an entirely different, much broader and representative group.

It would also be quite a blow for Theresa May because it would mean her minority government becomes even more of a minority government, making it much harder to get other legislation through.

House of Commons
Parliament

Hello and welcome to our coverage of what looks like a busy day in Parliament.

The House of Commons will be getting underway at 11.30am, when MPs will be putting questions to Scottish Secretary David Mundell.

After that Theresa May will face off against Jeremy Corbyn at Prime Minister’s Questions at noon.

This afternoon there will be a debate on anti-Semitism – it comes after Joan Ryan yesterday became the eighth Labour MP to quit the party, citing its tolerance of a "culture of anti-Jewish racism".

At 4pm, the UK’s former ambassador to the EU, Ivan Rogers, will be giving evidence to the Lords EU Committee on the Brexit negotiations.

Theresa May will meet Jean-Claude Juncker for further talks over her Brexit deal.

The firm says the move is due to global changes in the car industry and has nothing to do with Brexit.

Image source, PA

Financial secretary to the Treasury Mel Stride is updating MPs on the government’s plans to digitise VAT returns from businesses.

Firms with a taxable turnover above the VAT threshold are due to use the Making Tax Digital, external service to submit their returns from April.

He has previously said that 500,000 firms had been invited to join a pilot from October.

The Lords Economic Affairs Committee has called on the government to delay the introduction of the scheme by one year.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Conservative Eurosceptic Philip Hollobone says he would like to criticise Greg Clark for "not being clear enough that this is not a Brexit-related issue".

The "chances are", he adds, that the plant would have closed anyway, even if voters had opted for Remain in the 2016 referendum.

He adds that "we know this" because Honda has said it will also close a car factory in Turkey, which has a customs agreement with the EU.

In reply, the business secretary says "virtually every firm in the automotive sector" has told him that "uncertainty" is a "negative factor in their investment decision-making".

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Labour's Richard Burden says that whilst Brexit may not have been the "direct cause" of today's announcement, it is a key part of the "context" in which carmakers are making investment decisions.

The "harsh reality" is that the UK's reputation as a "stable place to do business" is being "undermined before our eyes", he adds.

In reply, Business Secretary Greg Clark says the government's Brexit deal will allow UK-based carmakers to continue trading across the EU with a "minimum of frictions".

Leaving the EU on World Trade Organization (WTO) terms, he adds, "would be a hammer blow to a foundational industry in this country".

MPs can avoid this outcome, he adds, by agreeing to a withdrawal deal.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

The SNP's trade union spokesman Chris Stephens says that one job in the Honda plant equates to four in the supply chain.

He asks for ministers to give regular updates to MPs on further discussions with Honda, and asks what is being done to protect the UK's manufacturing sector.

Mr Clark says he will keep the Commons updated. There are two years in which the workforce will continue in employment, he adds.

There are skills shortages across manufacturing industries, he says, so there's no reason why these workers shouldn't be able to get jobs in "advanced manufacturing" elsewhere.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long Bailey says news of the closure is "absolutely devastating" for workers at the plant and "the entire economy".

She says the government is "completely incompetent" and a "damning indictment of this government's failure to support car manufacturing".

She says there can be "no doubt" that "reckless" government threats of a no-deal Brexit "is having an impact on business decisions, even if that isn't the top line of a press release".

Mr Clark replies that he hopes the government can keep showing companies their commitments to the car sector in the UK.

He says that car companies welcome the withdrawal agreement reached between the UK and EU to provide certainty.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Business Secretary Greg Clark tells MPs the plant closure is a "bitter blow" to employees at the plant, and a "blow to the whole British economy”.

He says he will chair a task-force in Swindon, aiming to do "everything we can" to ensure the affected employees can find "new opportunities".

He says he has made the case over the last three years for firms to invest in the UK "despite the uncertainty that Brexit has put into the assessments of investors".

The decision now means the government needs to do "whatever and all that it takes" to ensure that in years to come, Honda will "recognise Britain as the best place in the world to build some of the best vehicles in the world", he says.

Image source, PA

Business Secretary Greg Clark will now make a statement about Honda’s decision to close its Swindon car plant in 2021, with the loss of about 3,500 jobs.

Honda said the move was due to global changes in the car industry and the need to launch electric vehicles, and it had nothing to do with Brexit.

The company said it would begin consulting immediately about the proposed closure with potentially affected employees.

Earlier this month, Nissan switched plans to build its X-Trail SUV from the UK to Japan.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

The DUP's Westminster Leader Nigel Dodds says that "anyone who knows anything about Irish politics knows that no Irish government will introduce a hard border".

"That's the reality of the situation", he adds.

He asks if "some of the rhetoric coming from the Irish government and others, is bringing about the very thing that they say they want to avoid, which is the possibility of a no deal".

Mr Buckland says he will not make comments on members of friendly governments "but this is time for calm heads, and not hot ones".

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Labour MP Hilary Benn, who chairs the Brexit select committee, says the technology to avoid a backstop "does not exist" and nobody knows when it will become available.

He asks how ministers can therefore ask "credibly" for either a time limit or unilateral exit clause to the backstop plan.

Mr Buckland says there's "plenty of existing technology that could be used".

The most important point is the "sensitivity" of the communities in Northern Ireland, he says.

House of Commons
Parliament

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The SNP's Joanna Cherry says Martin Selmayr, a top EU official, told the Brexit select committee earlier this month that "the most" the EU would accept on the backstop would be an "additional legal instrument or codicil to the agreement".

She asks him to confirm that "it's quite clear there will be no time limit or unilateral exit clause to the backstop".

She asks why a speech planned for today on the backstop from the Attorney General has been "cancelled".

Robert Buckland replies that the Attorney General is planning to make a speech "about the issues", but says it will not be "detailed exposition of a legal position, which he will bring to this House if appropriate".

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Solicitor General Robert Buckland says the government recognises the "legitimate desire" of MPs to understand the legal effects of the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

He says talks in Brussels on the backstop are "ongoing", but tells MPs: "It would not be appropriate to provide a running commentary".

Shadow solicitor general Nick Thomas-Symonds says "all the time our economy, our future and our country are all affected" as the UK heads towards Brexit.

He asks if the government is seeking a new annex, or an exchange of letters on the backstop. "Running the clock down is reckless and irresponsible," he says.

Mr Buckland replies that it would be "reckless and irresponsible to provide a running commentary on sensitive negotiations".

He asks Labour to "let the government get on with its work at pace".