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Summing up for the government, Northern Ireland Minister John Penrose says it is incredibly welcome that there is cross-party support for the bill.

“But the other thing that was widely shared was a sense of frustration at the lack of a Stormont executive," he adds.

Mr Penrose says direct rule can lead to a very difficult political situation, and notes that Northern Ireland "is on the cusp of breakthrough".

The bill passes its second reading without division and begins its committee stage.

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Shadow Northern Ireland minister Karin Smyth is now winding up the second reading of the Northern Ireland Budget (Anticipation and Adjustment) (No. 2) Bill for Labour.

Ms Smyth says she takes the spending of taxpayers' money seriously, and for this reason the bill requires more scrutiny.

She adds that she wishes the bill was not being introduced, and says currently resources in Northern Ireland are being spread too thinly.

Funding for a medical school in Londonderry is desperately needed, she says, adding that the minister needs to reassure Northern Ireland citizens that the government will ensure a quality of care.

"The people of Northern Ireland deserve much better than this," she concludes.

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DUP MP Jim Shannon says a number of planned projects in his constituency including a by-pass and a coastal erosion programme are being held up by the political stalemate in Stormont.

He says "minimal changes" are not enough for the "elderly lady lying in a corridor in Ulster hospital" or the child starting school.

He urges the government to take "appropriate steps towards direct rule".

"We want devolution but we cannot afford to wait any longer."

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Conservative MP Andrew Murrison, who chairs the Northern Ireland select committee, describes the current situation in Northern Ireland as "unsatisfactory".

He echoes the comments by David Sterling - the head of the civil service in Northern Ireland - who said there had been "slow decay and stagnation" in public services.

"The people of Northern Ireland deserve much better," he says.

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Shadow Northern Ireland secretary Tony Lloyd opens his response by saying this debate will receive "very little coverage".

"That is a tragedy," he says.

He attributes this to people in Northern Ireland "becoming disillusioned with the political process".

"That is beyond a matter of regret, it is a matter of danger," he warns.

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Independent Unionist MP Sylvia Hermon intervenes to record "her serious disappointment" that there is no money in the bill for survivors of "historical institutional abuse".

Karen Bradley replies that the purpose of the bill is to allow civil servants in Northern Ireland to spend their budget.

"We are not directing them how to spend that money," she says.

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Opening the debate, Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley says the bill provides practical solutions to set spending in Northern Ireland until an executive resumes.

It gives the necessary clarity to Northern Ireland departments to enable them to take decisions and plan and prepare for the year ahead, she adds.

MPs are now debating the Northern Ireland Budget (Anticipation and Adjustment) (No. 2) Bill.

This bill is a measure to set government spending in Northern Ireland, in the absence of an Assembly or devolved executive.

Northern Ireland has been without an executive since January 2017, when the governing parties - the DUP and Sinn Féin - split in a bitter row.

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Speaker John Bercow makes a brief statement announcing that former Labour MP Fiona Onasanya, jailed for lying about a speeding offence, has lost an appeal against her conviction.

He confirms that Ms Onasanya will therefore face a recall petition process under the terms of legislation that came into effect in 2015.

He adds that he will be writing to the petition officer in her constituency to begin the formal process.

If at least 10% of the voters in her Peterborough constituency sign the petition, Fiona Onasanya will lose her seat and there will be a by-election.

Ms Onasanya will be allowed to stand as a candidate.

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Last to speak is the SNP's Alan Brown, who made the application for the emergency debate this afternoon.

"We now know we have collective government incompetence," he says, calling for all details of the ferry contracts to be released.

Mr Brown says no clarity or justification for the government's actions in pursuing the contracts or for the settlement with Eurotunnel were provided this afternoon.

Echoing earlier comments from Mr Grayling that sometimes risks have to be taken, Mr Brown says this contradicts contingency planning.

"The longer he stays in government, the longer he is a risk," Mr Brown adds.

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SNP MP Joanna Cherry says in her many years a solicitor, the settlement to Eurotunnel "puzzles" her.

"I want to know whether Eurotunnel will pay back the money in the event of the deal, and if any of the £33m is to be spent on increased security," she adds.

Ms Cherry says she will "continue to pursue" the issue today and in the future.

She adds that it is "suspicious" that the government has not previously said that these contracts were to be used for the supply of medicines.

"I and others are left with the inevitable conclusion that what they are doing is trying to cover up a monumental error of staggering negligence in their preparations for a no-deal Brexit".

"In any normal, healthy, functioning democracy this scandal would bring the government down", she adds.

Image source, Reuters

In December, the Department for Transport (DfT) contracted three suppliers to provide additional freight capacity on ferries for lorries.

One of the firms awarded a ferry contract, Seaborne Freight, has already had its deal cancelled after the Irish company backing it pulled out.

Shortly after it was awarded the contract, the BBC found out that Seaborne had no ships and had never run a ferry service.

In January, Eurotunnel wrote to Mr Grayling to complain that it had not been considered when the contracts were awarded, and that they had been handed out in a "secretive" way.

It argued that unlike Seaborne, it has actually run a cross-Channel ferry service (MyFerryLink, which closed in 2015) and should have been approached.

The government said its £33m payment to Eurotunnel to settle the case was to help the company make improvements at its terminal in Folkestone, to ensure the Channel Tunnel is "ready for a post-Brexit world."

Read more.

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Labour's Lilian Greenwood, who chairs the transport committee, says Chris Grayling has shown a "repeated failure to operate in an open and transparent manner".

Seeing Health Secretary Matt Hancock in the Commons yesterday was a "ludicrous spectacle", she adds.

She asks how much of the £33m payment to Eurotunnel will be spent on border security in the UK, in comparison to other areas such as Calais.

She calls for more information on the legality of the ferry contracts and the government's actions.

"It is disappointing that yet again the transport secretary has had to be dragged to the chamber, but once again we have no answers," she adds.

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Conservative MP Kevin Foster says he has today's debate has a "Groundhog Day" feel to it.

He says the same people who complain about no-deal preparations are returning to complain that the government has mitigated no-deal planning.

The nub of the debate is whether the "legal risk" in awarding the contracts to ensure the smooth supply of medicines was right to take, Mr Foster says.

He adds that he believes it was, as the country cannot be denied access to medicines.

The £33m the government has agreed to pay to Eurotunnel is "being used to make improvements", he adds.

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SNP MP Carol Monaghan says there are "serious questions" regarding the supply of medicines in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Multiple links in the medical supply chain are threatened and the cost could be substantial, she says.

1.1 million people rely on emergency medication in this country, she adds, noting that she "hopes" this has been taken into consideration by ministers.

Mr Monaghan acknowledges that during her speech, Mr Grayling has left the chamber.

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Charlie Elphicke, the Conservative MP for Dover, says Chris Grayling has "worked hard in the national interest" to ensure that contingency plans have been taken forwards.

He took procedures "known to be risky" because of the time frame, but they were in the national interest, Mr Elphicke adds.

He says it would be "unfair" for blame to be laid at Mr Grayling's feet, noting that he was "trying to take the pressure off of the Channel tunnel".

Conservative MP Kevin Foster intervenes to ask Mr Elphicke if he agrees that the risk of reducing medical supplies is greater than the risk of legal action being taken against the government.

"And therein lies the answer," Mr Elphicke replies.

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Andy McDonald says the money Chris Grayling has cost the taxpayer at any time would have been unacceptable, but at a time when more people are in poverty than before, it is extremely unacceptable.

"We are told there's no money for schools, hospitals or social care but the prime minister always seems to find money for the secretary of state's latest blunder," he adds.

"It's one rule for the country, and another for cabinet ministers", he adds.

"On behalf of the country, I implore the secretary of state to resign".

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Mr McDonald says the "latest fiasco" would have warranted the resignation of Chris Grayling if it were an isolated event, but it is simply "one in a series of blunders".

Research into the secretary of state's mistakes in both his current role and previous roles reveals he has cost the taxpayer £2.7bn, Mr McDonald adds.

He notes that this money is the sum of the annual salaries of 18,000 nurses and 94,000 secondary school teachers.

"Shamefully this has been allowed by the prime minister, who keeps him in post because she is short of allies in the cabinet", he says.

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Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald also asks if there are provisions in the settlement with Eurotunnel which means the £33m will be returned to the UK in the case of a deal.

"I fail to see how it is in the national interest to pour millions of pounds down the drain," he adds.

The government's failure to plan for such a no-deal Brexit means ministers have given themselves no option but to pay out this money to Eurotunnel, Mr McDonald says.

He calls the settlement "shameful" and "a disaster".

"This secretary of state hasn't been able to count for years, he's costing us a fortune."

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Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald asks Chris Grayling to confirm who made the decision to make a financial settlement with Eurotunnel.

Mr Grayling intervenes to say it was a Cabinet decision.

Mr McDonald says "this characterises a government in meltdown" and asks which government department or departments footed the £33m payment to Eurotunnel.

Conservative MP Sir Edward Leigh intervenes to say Chris Grayling and the Department for Transport wanted to start no-deal preparations earlier, but others in the cabinet were preventing him from doing so.

He says Mr Grayling will not say this himself.