Brexit: Government-backed customs amendments scrape through as minister resigns - as it happened
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Your support makes all the difference.Theresa May survived a backbench rebellion and a ministerial resignation to push through a bill on Britain's post-Brexit customs arrangements.
The prime minister had been warned her Chequers deal was "dead in the water" after seemingly caving and accepting amendments by influential pro-Brexit Conservative faction the European Research Group (ERG) on tariffs and VAT policy.
Two ERG amendments were passed with a majority of just three, narrowly avoiding an embarrassing defeat for Ms May after as many as 14 Tory MPs rebelled in divisions on Monday evening.
Among them was defence minister Guto Bebb, who resigned from government after defying the whip to vote against the ERG's new clause 36, requiring HMRC not to collect tariffs for other nations without a reciprocal dealing being in place.
The third reading of the bill was approved by 318 votes to 285, meaning it will now progress to the House of Lords.
Read the recap of how our live coverage unfolded throughout the day
David Davis, who resigned as Brexit Secretary last week, is now speaking in the Commons.
He starts by saying his speech is not a resignation statement but rather marks his return to being a backbencher.
He says few MPs can be more angry than him at the government's White Paper but urges MPs not to vote against the government.
He criticises Anna Soubry's amendment, which seeks to keep the UK in a customs union with the EU, saying it goes against the Conservative Party manifesto, which included a pledge to leave the customs union.
David Davis says it is wrong to suggest being outside the customs union will damage trade.
He is trying to debunk claims that friction at the UK border would be devastating for business, saying lots of international supply chains operate across borders where there are tariff barriers.
He says in Canada, for example, there is an entire industry supplying parts for the US motor industry, despite there being tariffs between the two countries.
David Davis says the "most difficult issue" during negotiations has been Northern Ireland, but dismisses fears that Brexit could lead to a hard border:
"There is no way the UK would ever install a harder border in Northern Ireland...No UK government would risk the peace process that has been going on for decades. Neither will an Irish government. I cannot imagine in a century than an Irish government would do that either."
He says there is already a currency, VAT and excise border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Avoiding a hard border is "eminently soluble" by technical means and co-operation between the two governments, he adds.
Getting to the core of his argument, David Davis says "the risks and costs of having a customs border are less than is being claimed, and what would be given up to join a customs union is much more than is imagined".
He says the EU is a "slow and not very effective negotiator" of free trade agreements, because representing so many countries "means they come up with sub-optimal outcomes all the time". He says the UK suffers most from this because EU trade deals rarely include services, which make up around 80 per cent of the UK economy.
At their weekly meeting tonight, Labour MPs are discussing the party's refusal to adopt the full IHRA definition of antisemitism -a move which sparked fury and was strongly condemned by Jewish community groups. Chuka Umunna has reportedly suggested the decision is evidence of Labour's institutional racism against Jewish people - quite a claim from an MP talking about their own party...
68 rabbis representing different elements of the UK Jewish community have written an open letter urging Labour to listen to the Jewish people when it comes to antisemitism. They accuse the Labour leadership of having "chosen to ignore those who understand antisemitism the best" and of acting "in the most insulting and arrogant way".
Priti Patel, the former international development minister, speaks in favour of the ERG amendments and says it was "disappointing" that mention of mutual collection of tariffs was not included in the government's White Paper.
She asks the Commons: "Why are we planning to give the EU assurances and confidences that we do not expect them to provide us in return?"
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