Brexit news: Theresa May interrogated over no-deal ferry contract at PMQs as Tories lash out over aide's overheard comments
Live updates from Westminster, as they happened
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Your support makes all the difference.Theresa May has come under reneweed pressure over a botched no-deal ferry contract handed to a firm which had no ships.
The decision to award the £13.8m deal to Seaborne Freight was widely mocked at the time, and transport secretary Chris Grayling faced calls to resign over the matter amid claims that he misled MPs about whether taxpayers' money had been spent on the contract.
The prime minister also faced anger from MPs after her top Brexit aide was overheard describing plans to offer MPs with a last-minute choice between her deal and a "long" delay.
In a move that enraged Brexiteers, Olly Robbins was reportedly overheard in a Brussels hotel bar telling colleagues the EU would probably give the government an extension to the Article 50 withdrawal process.
To follow events as they unfolded, see out live coverage
Huge jeers for Tory MP Craig MacKinlay when he attacks Corbyn for speaking about Ramsgate in his constituency. 'He doesn't speak for Thanet - I do'.
He asks May to ensure that Ramsgate harbour is ready for no-deal preparations and to commit to ensuring his constituents do not pay for it.
May says she will get the Department for Transport to look into it.
That's it for PMQs but if you want more, Ben Kentish and John Rentoul will be chatting about it on Facebook.
What have we learned from that clash?
- The FGM bill will be given parliamentary time after Tory backbencher Chris Chope objected to it last week.
- Theresa May came under fire over the Seaborne Ferry row but says she has confidence in Chris Grayling, the transport secretary. Corbyn landed a decent blow with questions about the spending on external consultants, and also the due diligence that had reportedly been done.
- May dismissed the Olly Robbins comments as 'something someone overheard in a bar' and insisted she was keen to secure a deal.
The Commons has now moved onto an urgent question on EU trade deals, in the wake of this morning's story (see here), asked by Labour's Barry Gardiner.
Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, says he is working hard to ensure continuity of trade, but the best way to preserve trade flow is to vote for the PM's Brexit deal.
He says some have been signed, including Switzerland, while some agreements have been reached, such as with Israel. He says he would expect nothing different from how things are going - as countries always allow talks to run down to the wire.
Barry Gardiner, Labour's shadow trade secretary, raises the leaked list. He says the department looks as if it has inadequate resources, focused on the wrong priorities, set by incompetent ministers.
Fox says he is wrong. If the UK wants all the deals to apply after midnight on March 29 then they should support the PM's deal.
Some countries wanted the UK to drop human rights clauses that had been in EU free trade deals but he has refused to do this.
Theresa May dismisses questions about her chief negotiator reportedly saying there could be a "long delay" to Brexit
The crisis in policing shows the danger of a single-issue government, writes chief political commentator John Rentoul...
Theresa May's spokesman was wary of giving advice to voters on their kitchen habits after an outcry over reports the PM told cabinet that she scrapes mould off the top of jam.
He told reporters: "That is a matter for the individual."
A spokesman for Jeremy Corbyn said that mould was never an issue for the famously jam-loving Labour leader, who makes his own jam with fruit from his allotment.
"Jeremy's love of both making and consuming jam is well-known, and as such he personally never gets to the point of scraping or chucking mould," he said.
Downing Street faces defeat in a key Brexit vote on Valentine’s Day after refusing Brexiteer demands to shift the government’s position.
On Thursday MPs will vote on a government motion that endorses previous non-binding decisions taken by MPs – including one that takes a no-deal Brexit off the table.
After a key figure of the Brexit-backing European Research Group said it could not back the motion as a result, No 10 said it still would not re-write it.
The motion says: That this House welcomes the Prime Minister’s statement of 12 February 2019; reiterates its support for the approach to leaving the EU expressed by this House on 29 January 2019 and notes that discussions between the UK and the EU on the Northern Ireland backstop are ongoing.
Theresa May is facing fresh questions over the Seaborne ferry fiasco after claiming consultants Deloitte undertook "due diligence" on the company - despite the auditor having already revealed they were unable to complete necessary tests.
It comes amid mounting pressure on the transport secretary Chris Grayling to resign over the cancelled £13.8m contract with Seaborne Freight to provide ferry services in the event of disorderly Brexit.
Ms May made her remarks in the Commons as she came under heavy fire from Jeremy Corbyn at prime minister's questions, as he asked: "What went wrong?"
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