Brexit news - LIVE: Jeremy Corbyn denies calling Theresa May 'stupid woman' after uproar in parliament

Speaking in the chamber just now, Jeremy Corbyn says he did not use the words "stupid woman" in reference to the prime minister earlier. Instead, he insists, he used the words "stupid people" during the heated PMQs session at those "turning crisis into a pantomime".

"I did not use the words 'stupid woman' about the prime minister or anyone else," he said.

Mr Corbyn told the Commons: "During Prime Minister's Question Time today, I referred to those who I believe were seeking to turn a debate about the national crisis facing our country into a pantomime as 'stupid people'.

"Mr Speaker I did not use the words 'stupid woman' about the Prime Minister or anyone else, and am completely opposed to the use of sexist or misogynist language in absolutely any form at all.

"I'm happy to place that on the record at your request this afternoon."

Former Labour whip Fiona Onasanya has been found guilty of perverting the course of justice following an Old Bailey retrial for lying to police to avoid a speeding charge.

The 35-year-old solicitor was accused of colluding with her brother Festus after her car was clocked going 41mph in a 30mph zone in the village of Thorney near Peterborough in July last year.

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Our political editor Joe Watts has put together a "mini history of sexism" in Westminster in the wake of the "stupid woman" row.

Fiona Onasanya had been an MP for little over a month when she took the car journey which ended with her conviction for perverting the course of justice.

The 35-year-old solicitor's victory in Peterborough was one of the shock results of the snap election of June 8 2017, which saw a Labour surge rob Theresa May of her majority in the House of Commons.

Ms Onasanya took the seat from Conservative Stewart Jackson by a wafer-thin margin of just 607 votes.

She had only joined Labour six years earlier in 2011, after the local party secretary in her hometown of Cambridge overheard her talking in a pub about that summer's riots and asked whether she had ever considered being active in politics.

After serving four years as a Cambridgeshire county councillor, she was chosen as Labour candidate for a seat which the party had last held in 2005 and which was not at the top of its target list.

Despite being a vocal supporter of Remain in the previous year's EU referendum, she won the Leave-backing seat.

Within weeks she told the Peterborough Telegraph that she would like to be Britain's first black female prime minister, and initially her progress at Westminster was swift.

A declared supporter of leader Jeremy Corbyn, she was appointed a Labour whip in January 2018 and parliamentary aide to shadow defence secretary Nia Griffith in July of that year.

She grabbed attention by quoting the grime star Big Shaq's hit Man's Not Hot in a Commons debate on the Budget, telling MPs: "This is not as simple as saying two plus two is four, minus three is one - quick maths'."

But she later admitted that she was overwhelmed by the pressure of starting work as an MP, describing it as like being thrown into an ocean and expected to swim.

By this time, the process leading to her downfall had already begun, as her Nissan Micra was recorded speeding in a village near Peterborough on July 24 2017.

The Old Bailey heard evidence that she was behind the wheel of the car - and may also have been sending text messages. The jury was told she went on to lie repeatedly about her involvement to avoid prosecution.

Following her conviction, Labour announced it was suspending Ms Onasanya and urged her to resign as an MP.

She was the second MP in recent years to end up in court for perverting the course of justice in an apparent effort to avoid speeding points on their driving licence. Liberal Democrat minister Chris Huhne was sentenced to eight months after pleading guilty in 2013.

Of Nigerian descent, Ms Onasanya was born in Cambridge and studied law at the University of Hertfordshire, specialising in property law after her graduation. A devout Christian, she has revealed that she suffers from multiple sclerosis.

Sir Keir Starmer said Labour MPs would not be forced into accepting Theresa May's deal in order to prevent a no deal scenario as he accused the Government of "running down the clock" on Brexit.

The shadow Brexit secretary was speaking after he secured an emergency debate in the Commons this afternoon on the issue.

He said: "I don't think for one moment that this House if going to accept the binary choice that the Prime Minister will attempt to put before us.

"A choice between bad and even worse is not a meaningful choice. Nor is leaving the EU on March 29 next year without a deal viable.

"It has never been viable and as every day goes past it becomes less and less viable."

Speaking to reporters in Downing Street after a meeting with Theresa May, the Scottish First minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon urged Jeremy Corbyn to back a motion of no confidence in the government that has already been tabled by the smaller opposition parties in Westminster. 

The SNP, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and the Greens tabled a vote of no confidence in the UK Government following a meeting on Tuesday evening.

They said the decision follows constant pressure on Mr Corbyn to table a motion of no confidence in the UK Government under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, which he has not done.

Ms Sturgeon said: "It's beyond me why Jeremy Corbyn seems to be one of the last remaining people that still has confidence in this Tory Government."

She added "If it doesn't pass, it removes Jeremy Corbyn's excuse for not making up his mind on a second EU referendum.

"It looks to me right now as if he is trying to run the clock down and avoid difficult decisions just as much as the Prime Minister is.

"We don't have time to waste, so I hope Labour come behind this motion of no confidence and we can try to bring this Government down, but if we can't do that then at least we can pave the way to a second referendum that offers a way out of this mess.