Select Committee
Parliament

Labour peer Lord Faulkner of Worcester asks how the Northern Ireland Assembly will be able to consent to the customs arrangements in the PM's deal if it is not sitting.

The assembly has not sat since January 2017 when the power-sharing parties split, and efforts to restore it have so far failed.

Stephen Barclay replies that, in that event, ministers have committed that a "mechanism" to consult assembly members will be found.

Scotland's highest court has delayed a decision on whether the prime minister has fully complied with a law requiring him to ask for a Brexit extension.

Boris Johnson sent an unsigned letter to Brussels asking for a delay, along with a signed letter saying he believed that doing so would be a mistake.

Lord Carloway said the case should continue until obligations under the law had been complied with in full.

A date for the next hearing at the Court of Session has yet to be set.

Read more about the decision here.

BBC Politics Live
BBC2's lunchtime political programme

Tory MP Tom Tugenhadt says Northern Ireland has "already got a different status in the union" than the rest of the UK and the new Brexit deal should be supported by its MPs.

Speaking on Politics Live, he said: "I am sorry DUP aren’t happy and I do understand their position.

"But this is in-keeping with the Good Friday accord."

Mr Tugenhadt denied the deal threatened the integrity of the union.

But he admitted it would make ties between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland closer.

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, HoL

Peers have now moved on to the customs aspects of the PM's Brexit deal, with Tory peer Baroness Couttiee asking what the "practical implications" are for business.

Mr Barclay is asked about the administrative burden of the new plan, under which goods arriving into Northern Ireland could face different tariffs depending on whether officials decide they are "at risk" of ending up in the EU.

In reply, he says the EU will be incentivised to "minimise" the administrative impact on firms, because of the "consent mechanism" included in the deal.

Under this part of the plan, the arrangements can only continue after 2025 if the Northern Ireland Assembly - Stormont - agrees.

BBC Politics Live
BBC2's lunchtime political programme

Labour MP Lisa Nandy tells BBC Politics Live: "I’ll certainly support the bill at second reading."

She continues: "I want a deal, I want to leave the European Union but maintain a close economic relationship.

"This is the first time we have ever got into the substance of the bill, that is why I’m going to vote for this at second reading and try and see if I can get your side and mine to compromise," she says, referring to Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat who is sitting next to her.

If the Withdrawal Agreement Bill is introduced later today, it will go to the next stage, the second reading. This could be held tomorrow.

The bill's second reading will be the first time MPs can vote on the proposed legislation.

But it is the following stage where specific amendments - suggested changes - can be tabled to the bill. Such as a proposal on a customs union, for example.

Select Committee
Parliament

Stephen Barclay tells peers he expects a "large number" of amendments to be tabled to the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB), which will be published later.

Mr Barclay tells the committee is because the scope of the WAB is "extremely wide".

This bill is required for the PM's Brexit deal to be implemented, and will have to be approved by the Commons and Lords for the deal to come into effect.

The legislation which would implement Brexit - called the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) - will be introduced on Monday and must begin the process of parliamentary scrutiny.

The BBC's poltical editor said opposition MPs were likely to try to change the bill, for example, including a customs union with the EU after Brexit or attaching the deal to another referendum.

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, HoL

Now giving evidence to the Lords EU Committee, Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay is asked how he feels after MPs voted on Saturday to delay approval of the PM's deal.

He tells peers it was "disappointing" that a so-called meaningful vote - on whether to give parliamentary approval to the deal - "didn't happen".

Asked what the government will do if Speaker John Bercow doesn't allow that vote later today, Mr Barclay says ministers will "cross that bridge when it comes".

However, he says it would be "odd" not to give MPs a chance to approve the deal, now that it has been agreed with the European Union.

The BBC's Jonathan Blake explains what the Letwin amendment is, and what it means for Brexit.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage, as MPs meet later following their decision on Saturday to delay approval of the PM’s Brexit deal.

Downing Street is pushing for the Commons to get a "straight up-and-down vote" on the deal on Monday afternoon, but it is not clear whether Commons Speaker John Bercow will allow it.

Mr Bercow is due to announce his decision at about 15:30 BST, about an hour after today’s sitting in the Commons gets under way.

Before that though, we’ll be hearing from Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay, who is due to give evidence to the House of Lords EU Committee at midday.