EU chief Donald Tusk labelled 'devilish, trident wielding, euro maniac' by DUP after extraordinary attack on Brexiteers

This is from my colleague Lizzy Buchan, who is at Stormont as the prime minister holds meetings with the leaders of the main political parties in Northern Ireland.

Fair to say Sinn Fein are leaving less than impressed.

At PMQs, the SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford claimed the government had "sneaked through a cut in pensions credit which will see some couples up to £7,000 a year worse off".

He said: "An estimated 300,000 more pensioners are now living in poverty than in 2012. Does the minister agree that his Government needs to change course and instead of robbing pensioners start supporting them?"

Mr Lidington replied: "What this House voted for some years ago is perfectly logical and in line with the intention of the benefit system."

The DUP's Brexit spokesperson, Sammy Wilson has responded to Donald Tusk's remarks at the press conference earlier this afternoon. 

Theresa May's official spokesperson has replied to the comments made by Donald Tusk. 

“It’s a question for Donald Tusk whether he considers that language to be helpful. That is difficult as he didn’t take questions this morning," they said.

Speaking to journalists after meeting Theresa May at Stormont the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Arlene Foster said:“So we’ve had another useful engagement with the prime minister. As you know, we engage with the government quite regularly in the round.

"We reiterated again the fact that the backstop was the problem in relation to the withdrawal agreement and the Brady amendment that was put down in the House of Commons last week gives her the mandate now to go to Brussels as she intends to to on Thursday and we look forward to hearing the outcome of that.

“As I’ve said, the Brady amendment is clear in relation to the withdrawal agreement that the backstop needs to be replaced. That is her mandate and that’s what I expect her to take to Brussels.”

Asked whether it was clear that Ms May had to replace the backstop or tweak it, Ms Foster said: “I think we are into semantics now. What the House of Commons has given the mandate to do is to replace the backstop and that’s therefore her mandate to take to Brussels.”

Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom said Donald Tusk should apologise for his "disgraceful" and "spiteful" comments.

The Brexit-supporting cabinet minister told BBC Radio 4's World at One: "I think that what he has said is pretty unacceptable and pretty disgraceful.

"I'm sure that when he reflects on it he may well wish he hadn't done it."

She added: "This is a negotiation between friends, allies, neighbours. It's supposed to be collegiate and collaborative, and it totally demeans him to stoop to such a spiteful tweet."

Guy Verhofstadt - the European Parliament's Brexit coordinator - has said in a statement: "Today, I assured the Taoiseach that his Government and the Irish people have the unequivocal support of the European Parliament. We will never abandon Ireland. We will never prioritise the demands of a minority of Eurosceptic MPs from a departing Member State over the interests of an EU Member State."

"The UK Parliament rejected the agreement reached, which was a compromise based on the UK's own proposal, so it is the UK's obligation to now propose a positive and viable proposal on the way forward. An enduring future EU – UK future partnership, can only be built on a strong and stable majority in the UK Parliament. For us, the Withdrawal Agreement is fair and cannot be replaced. "

"The European Parliament will never agree to any deal that excludes an “all-weather” backstop-insurance policy to avoid any hardening of the border on the Island of Ireland. This is vital to protect the Good Friday Agreement and the Peace Process. Political uncertainty in the UK has reinforced to us why this insurance policy is required. The EU remains clear, firm and united on this even if the negotiated backstop is not meant to be used."

Nigel Farage has, perhaps unsurprisingly, hit back at Donald Tusk over his comments this morning....

The House of Commons is about to adjourn for the day - four hours earlier than usual - because there is nothing for MPs to debate or vote on.

It comes despite a week-long recess having been cancelled at the end of February in order to prepare for Brexit...

We're very much in a holding pattern as Theresa May tries to find some sort of solution to put before parliament that has a realistic chance of being passed.