Brexit news - live: Tories prompt confusion over European election plan as Change UK face second racism resignation in 24 hours
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Senior Conservative backbenchers are expected to regroup today and decide whether to press ahead for changes to the party's rule book to enable an early leadership challenge to Theresa May.
It comes after MPs on the Tory 1922 Committee failed to reach a decision on Tuesday night amid growing pressure on the prime minister to name the date of her departure.
Ms May and Jeremy Corbyn have travelled to Belfast to attend the funeral of murdered journalist Lyra McKee, leaving the PM's deputy David Lidington and shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry to face off over Brexit and Northern Ireland at prime minister's questions.
During the session, Mr Lidington said both parties were making a "genuine attempt" to reach a solution to the Brexit impasse at Westminster, and said cross-party talks between negotiating teams hd been "constructive".
Ms Thornberry also used her remarks to urge the government to be "serious" about "putting the country first" by putting the option of a customs union - something Labour has demanded - on the table.
The shadow foreign secretary also criticised the forthcoming state visit by the US President Donald Trump, claiming: "The government is going to spend millions giving Donald Trump the red carpet, golden carriage treatment in June."
This live blog has now closed, but you can follow Wednesday's events below
Conservative MPs will meet in Westminster at 5pm today at which a decision is likely to be made on any rule changes to Conservative party rule book - enabling an early challenge to Theresa May's leadership.
This is from Buzzfeed's Alex Wickham
Theresa May will allow Huawei to build key parts of the UK's new 5G network – despite fears the company will allow the Chinese government to spy on people using it.
The government is said to be satisfied that the company will only be allowed to build "non-core" parts of the infrastructure, such as antennas, keeping the information passed over it safe.
But politicians including Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative chairman of Britain's Foreign Affairs Committee, have criticised the decision, suggesting that it will make internet users in the UK unsafe.
Theresa May has broken the record for the most unpopular Conservative minister ever, according to a survey of party members.
Mark Wallace, the editor of the website, writes: "For obvious reasons, the Prime Minister is bearing particular blame from Party members – both, one suspects, for her Brexit failure in particular and for the more general problems her continued leadership brings with it.
"Her rating wasn’t fantastic in February, when it sat at -40.8, but the prospect of postponement pushed it down to -51.2 in March, and the reality of that broken promise has pushed her numbers off a cliff, plummeting to -73.5 in April.
"I’ve searched our archives and so far as I can see this is the worst rating awarded to any Conservative ever in this question."
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, has said that changing the PM will not resolve the deadlock over Brexit, according to the Press Association.
Speaking at a TaxPayers' Alliance launch event in London, Mr Hancock said he still hoped there could be a majority in Parliament for a Brexit deal.
"Changing the Prime Minister will not change what we need to do to deliver Brexit, I think we should get on and deliver Brexit and I voted for that many times," he said.
"I hope the House of Commons will come to a majority to be able to deliver the result on the referendum."
In other news, Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, will be forced to respond to an urgent question in the Commons after prime minister's questions to yesterday's execution of 37 people in Saudi Arabia. So far, it seems the government have made no public reaction.
Prime Minister's Questions is about to begin in the Commons, but both Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn are in Belfast for the funeral of the murdered journalist Lyra Mckee. David Lidington, the effective deputy PM, will step in for the prime minister, and the shadow foreign secretary for the Labour leader. We'll bring you the highlights from the session.
David Lidington is now kicking of PMQs, who says he has been asked to reply on behalf of Theresa May. Speaking of the murder of Lyra McKee, he says her killers have nothing to offer the people of Northern Ireland. "We stand with Lyra," he says.
He also condemns the "appalling" attack in Sri Lanka over the Easter holidays during which over 300 people were killed in a series of bombings.
Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry echoes Lidington's remarks on Sri Lanka, describing it as an attack of "utter depravity and evil".
She also asks the government what is being done in response to the killing of Lyra Mckee in Northern Ireland.
He says any member of the public who hold information about her killing to come forward.
Thornberry says the issue of the Northern Ireland border must be solved in the ongoing Brexit negotiations.
"The only way the government intends to avoid the backstop is an invisible border," she says, referring to a leak last week from the Home Office on the question of the border.
She says the Home Office has outlined a series of problems with "technological solutions" to the Irish border.
"It's hardly a recipe for a success," she claims.
The only way to avoid a hard border is by staying in a customs union, Thornberry adds.
But Lidington says there is a £20m budget has already been earmarked for investing in alternative measures for the Irish border. He says a hard border is avoided by voting for Theresa May's withdrawal agreement.
"We've heard it all before," Thornberry responds.
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