House of Commons
Parliament

MPs begin debating a number of statutory instruments, also known as secondary legislation, relating to Brexit.

And that is where we leave our coverage of the House of Commons.

You can follow proceedings in the Commons by clicking on the video link at the top of this page.

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Parliament

Conservative MP Sir Edward Leigh asks if the government came back with a change to the political declaration so that the motion is substantially different, a third meaningful vote could potentially be held.

He says he is "trying to be helpful" by suggesting this.

The Speaker John Bercow says he stands by his ruling that if the same or substantially the same proposition is brought forwards it cannot be heard.

"If a different proposition is brought forward it is perfectly possible for that to be dealt with in an orderly way, that is to say, without falling foul of Erskine May," John Bercow concludes.

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Shadow Brexit minister Matthew Pennycook says a debate on a neutral motion needs to be had by Monday 25 March under the terms of the withdrawal agreement.

Mr Pennycook asks the Speaker John Bercow to confirm that irrespective of what happens in Brussels, there will be a standalone debate in the Commons by Monday 25 March

The Speaker says "that is correct".

He says a neutral motion which is amendable has been scheduled and must be put before the House before the 25 March, but no amendments have been tabled yet.

The Independent Group MP Anna Soubry asks the Speaker if it is "in order" that no minister is coming to the government to say what is going on with regards to the extension of Article 50 and talks with the EU.

The Speaker says he is not aware that anything disorderly has taken place.

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SNP MP Angela Crawley says the businessman, John Guidi, only has "a few weeks" before he faces eviction from his home.

She says that Mr Guidi says Clydesdale bank removed the funding from his property business and sold his loans to Cerberus, an American investment group.

His case, she says, raises questions about the treatment of businesses by banks and the "inadequacy" of regulation in this area.

She asks ministers to engage "urgently" with Mr Guidi, a constituent of hers.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury John Glen says he understands that both Clydesdale and Cerberus have offered to meet Mr Guidi.

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Next up MPs are debating an urgent question from SNP MP Angela Crawley on the treatment of small businesses by Clydesdale Bank.

It comes after a businessman went on hunger strike this weekend, blaming the bank for the collapse of his property business.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury John Glen says he cannot comment on individual cases, but says Clydesdale have been spoken to about the case in question.

He adds that businesses should be able to bring disputes and get fair redress against banks in cases where there is inappropriate treatment.

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Shadow policing minister Louise Haigh says child exploitation is fundamentally about an imbalance of power which "leads many victims to commit crimes".

The requirement for child sex abuse victims to disclose previous convictions, she says is a "punitive rule" that means they cannot escape past trauma.

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In her reply, Home Office Minister Victoria Atkins says it would not be appropriate to comment on specific cases.

She adds however that the government wants all victims and survivors of sexual abuse exploitation to feel they can report abuse and get necessary support when they do.

The government is committed to acting to protect the public, and to helping employers make safe decisions when recruiting employees, she adds.

The DBS scheme, she says, plays an "important part" in allowing employers to make "informed recruitment decisions".

Shadow police minister Louise Haigh is now asking an urgent question about whether child sex abuse survivors should have to disclose criminal records gained as a result of being groomed into prostitution as teenagers.

The Times reported yesterday that ministers are challenging a court ruling last year that victims should not have to inform prospective employers of previous convictions.

A group of women had successfully argued that the disclosure of convictions for working in the sex trade many years ago was disproportionate and a breach of their right to a private life.

A person's criminal record is shown in by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

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Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey says the car industry is facing a "perfect storm" of challenges, many of which are related to the uncertainty surrounding Brexit.

"This government is failing to provide the sector with the support it needs," she adds.

On Brexit, Ms Long-Bailey says the government has "threatened a catastrophic no-deal and allowed the country to fall behind on electrification, with subsidies being cut".

Business Secretary Greg Clark replies that the government is supporting the sector.

Leaders in the car industry support the prime minister's deal, he says, adding that the best way to end Brexit-related uncertainty is to "sign the deal".

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

The day in the House of Commons will be getting underway soon, with questions to ministers at the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.

After this there's an urgent question on the criminal records of child sex exploitation victims, followed by an urgent question at on Clydesdale Bank’s treatment of small businesses.

There’s then a ten minute rule bill on fracking, followed by discussion of various statutory instruments relating to Brexit.

Ministers warn of a crisis after John Bercow says MPs cannot vote again on motion they rejected last week.

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We're going to wrap the live page up now, so we'll leave you with a quick summary of the day:

• Speaker John Bercow surprised MPs by ruling out another meaningful vote on Theresa May's deal unless the House is presented with a substantially different motion from the one it has already rejected twice
• Theresa May had been expected to try for a third time to get her deal through in the coming days
• Downing Street said it had no warning about what Mr Bercow was planning to do
• Laura Kuenssberg says he's certainly chucked a spanner in the works
• Iain Watson looks at how Theresa May might still get the chance to put her deal to MPs again despite said spanner
• Later in the day, Brexit Minister Kwasi Kwarteng answered an urgent question on the government's planned procedure for extending Article 50
• He said it had not yet approached the EU for an extension, but hoped do so before the EU Council summit on Thursday. If a deal has - somehow - been agreed by MPs by then, the extension will be short, he added, but if not, it would "probably be longer"

If you enjoy listening to the team dissecting the latest Brexit machinations, you're in luck. Listen via the Brexitcast website, or via BBC Sounds, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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MPs now move on to debate government contractor Interserve going in to administration.

Last week, shareholders rejected a rescue deal for the company, which has 45,000 UK staff.

Before the Speaker threw his constitutional spanner in the Brexit works, he no doubt reached for a well-thumbed copy of Erskine May - the authoritative book on parliamentary law and practice.

John Bercow quoted the 24th edition, page 397, which states that a motion that is the same in substance as a question that's already been decided may not be brought forward again in the same session.

Mr Bercow referenced a decision on the matter made more than 400 years ago; when King James I summoned parliament to address frustration that MPs kept bringing back issues that had already been decided.

Other examples included an attempt to get more money for schools in 1864; an effort to limit the hours of railway workers in 1891 and, in 1912, George Lansbury tried to introduce a bill giving women the vote.

Each time the Speaker of the day said the matter had already been settled.

Now, those decades of parliamentary precedent detailed in dusty archives could - it seems - scupper the government's Brexit plan.

John Bercow cited choices from the past as his reason for a critical decision in the present.

Doodling to de-stress.

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Parliament

Labour's Liz Kendall says the government "has absolutely no plan whatsoever" for how to get the country "out of this mess".

In answer, Kwasi Kwarteng says the best option was to get the prime minister's deal through the House but "MPs had other ideas".

"I happen to think the meaningful vote will go ahead next week, who knows," he says.

But he adds that if that happens and the deal is voted down again there will be a long delay to Brexit.