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As it happenedended

Theresa May threatens 'no Brexit at all' as senior Tories put new referendum on table

All the latest updates from Westminster

Lizzy Buchan
Political Correspondent
Wednesday 21 November 2018 17:40 GMT
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Theresa May threatens 'no Brexit at all' if deal rejected

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Theresa May has urged MPs to back her plans or face the prospect of "no Brexit at all" before heading to Brussels for talks with Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission.

Tory MPs lined up to demand the prime minister renegotiate parts of her Brexit deal during a fiery prime minister's questions session, where Ms May sought to sell the plan to her divided party.

Earlier, senior Tories including Amber Rudd and Damian Collins opened the door to a new referendum, as the prime ministers hopes of securing a parliamentary majority appeared to fade.

It also comes amid suggestions from Brussels that a summit to sign off on the draft withdrawal agreement on Sunday could be called off unless progress is made on finalising a political declaration on future relations.

If you want to follow events as they happened, see our live coverage below

Earlier, Labour MP Gavin Shuker asked an interesting question. He said the UK is becoming more attractive place for sex traffickers due to stricter laws in nearby countries such as France and the Republic of Ireland.

May says the Home Office has provided funds for a study into sex work in England and Wales, which will report back in the spring.

Lizzy Buchan21 November 2018 12:40

Conservative MP Crispin Blunt raises the case of Matthew Hedges, a 31-year-old Briton who has been jailed for life on spying charges in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

May says the Foreign Secretary is urgently looking into this case and she sends her condolences to his family.

Lizzy Buchan21 November 2018 12:46

Lizzy Buchan21 November 2018 12:48

Brexit klaxon: Nigel Dodds, the DUP leader at Westminster, asks if May deleted a section from last year's joint report that said Northern Ireland would have a final say on whether it diverged from single market rules. It is not in the withdrawal agreement.

May says these are decisions for the UK as a whole and the joint report referred to decisions by the Northern Ireland assembly - which is still suspended.

Lizzy Buchan21 November 2018 12:50

That's it for PMQs for the week.

Lizzy Buchan21 November 2018 12:51

Jeremy Hunt is now answering an urgent question on the need for a ceasefire in Yemen.

He says the conflict has escalated to become one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world, where a third of the population are dependent on international aid.

Statistics cannot convey the enormity of this tragedy, he says, which is a 'man-made humanitarian catastrophe'.

Hunt called on all sides to set aside their arms and seek a peaceful political settlement. He has raised this in Saudi Arabia and Iran on recent visits.

The aim of the UK-sponsored UN Security Council resolution on Yemen is to "relieve the immediate humanitarian crisis and maximise the chances of achieving a political settlement," he said.

Lizzy Buchan21 November 2018 13:05

Emily Thornberry, shadow foreign secretary, says MPs have called for the government for more than two years to table a ceasefire motion. Hunt has not buried his head in the sand and deserves credit for this.

She says there is a lot to welcome in the draft resolution, which demands an immediate cessation of hostilities in Hodeidah, Yemen's main port city.

Ms Thornberry added: "Can the Foreign Secretary tell us why this latest resolution fails to spell out what compliance with the resolution will be monitored and by whom, and what sanctions will apply to any party who breaches its terms whether in terms of the ceasefire or the restriction of humanitarian aid?"

She also pressed him on whether there would be independent investigations into violations of international law - and whether he discussed this in Saudi Arabia.

Lizzy Buchan21 November 2018 13:25

All that Jean-Claude Juncker can offer Theresa May is a fudge in the wording of the non-binding part of the Brexit deal, the political declaration on the future trade relationship between the EU and the UK, says the Indy's John Rentoul.

Read his column here: 

Lizzy Buchan21 November 2018 13:32

Bit of post-match analysis here from Andy Grice and John Rentoul on a rather uneventful PMQs.

Lizzy Buchan21 November 2018 13:45

A government minister has been criticised after he suggested poor families could "move house" or “take in a lodger” to ease financial pressures caused by the benefit cap. 

Lizzy Buchan21 November 2018 14:01

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