Brexiteers refuse to back Brady amendment which would send May back to renegotiate Irish backstop
Updates from Westminster as it happened
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Your support makes all the difference.Theresa May is under pressure to seek fresh concessions over Irish backstop as MPs gear up for a series of critical votes that could alter the course of Brexit.
Jacob Rees-Mogg said his Eurosceptic allies will not support a compromise amendment to remove the backstop tabled by Tory grandee Sir Graham Brady – despite Conservative MPs being ordered to vote for it on Tuesday by the government.
The prime minister is scrambling to find a plan to unite the Commons, after MPs overwhelmingly rejected her Brexit deal by 230 votes earlier this month.
Meanwhile Labour found itself under pressure over its position on the government’s immigration bill.
At first the party issued a one-line whip to abstain and shadow home secretary Diane Abbott announced the party would not oppose the bill during its second reading, insisting they would seek amendments at committee stage.
But ninety minutes later, after facing widespread criticism, the leadership issued a single-line-whip - which is not binding – for its MPs to vote against.
Labour MP Chris Leslie described the situation as an “utter shambles”.
During the debate home secretary Sajid Javid confirmed that there would be no “targets” in the immigration bill but reaffirmed a commitment to “bring net migration down to more sustainable levels.”
He revealed that, under the new legislation, EU citizens would be able to come to the UK for up to three months without a visa before being required to apply for leave to remain.
Mr Javid went on: “They will be allowed to work temporarily but will need to apply for leave, and pay an application fee if they want to stay longer.
“We plan to grant them three years leave subject to identity, security and criminality checks, this will give us the time needed to run our EU settlement scheme for EEA and Swiss nationals that are already living here, and ensure there is no sudden shock to UK businesses as the future system is put in place.
“But the leave will be strictly temporary. It cannot be extended and those who wish to stay will need to meet our future immigration requirements.”
See below for our coverage as it happened.
Cabinet ministers have demanded that a no-deal Brexit remain an option for Britain, ahead of a showdown in House of Commons over the matter.
Education secretary Damian Hinds and commons leader Andrea Leadsom both said the option to quit talks without a deal should be a possibility for Theresa May.
The comments from Mr Hinds in particular, seen as one of the cabinet’s strong Remainers, will give little comfort to pro-EU ministerial colleagues who have threatened to resign over no deal in recent days.
Jeremy Corbyn has joined alongside 200 survivors of the Holocaust and genocides to honour the millions of people who were murdered, the Press Association reports.
Britain's Jewish community was assured it was an "intrinsic part of what makes Britain great", at a national memorial service in Westminster.
Mr Corbyn, whose party has been dogged by allegations of anti-Semitism, arrived 20 minutes before the service began and was seen chatting and taking photos with guests.
He earlier posted on Twitter: "Let us never allow anti-Semitism or any other form of racism to disfigure our society."
Chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust Laura Marks told guests trustees had been questioned over recent months about whether the guest list was "appropriate" given the reported prevalence of anti-Semitism within mainstream politics.
She told the room: "We were asked if it was appropriate to continue to welcome some representatives knowing that this may cause distress to Holocaust survivors and refugees.
"But we know through independent studies that people who attend Holocaust Memorial Day events learn more, empathise more deeply and go on to do more to build a better future."
Jeremy Corbyn has been asked outside his home in North London whether he will be backing Yvette Cooper’s amendment in the Commons tomorrow.
European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas has again insisted that Brussels would not reopen the withdrawal agreement negotiations.
"We have a unanimous EU27 position on the withdrawal agreement which reflects the common EU position," he said.
"This withdrawal agreement has been agreed with the UK government, it is endorsed by leaders and is not open for renegotiation."
A cabinet minister has refused to completely rule out the possibility that the UK could impose martial law to stop disorder in the case of a no-deal Brexit.
Health secretary Matt Hancock said it was not the “focus of our attention”, but admitted the government ws looking at all the options.
Other cabinet colleagues have argued that a no-deal Brexit must remain an option for the UK in Brexit negotiations, ahead of attempts by a group of cross-party MPs to take it off the table on Tuesday.
This is from the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg - seems not all the Conservative MPs are rallying behind the Graham Brady amendment.
The Graham Brady amendment (a time limited backstop) appears to be losing much needed support from Conservative Brexiteers, who are demanding more clarity…
Theresa May is ready to demand the removal of the Irish backstop from her Brexit deal, in a significant toughening of her stance ahead of a fresh Commons showdown.
Downing Street refused, multiple times, to say the prime minister still accepted the withdrawal agreement must include the insurance policy laid down by the EU, to avoid border checks.
Instead, No 10 said the commitment was only to avoiding a hard border by some means – arguing the crushing 230-vote defeat of her deal a fortnight ago meant “changes are going to have to be made”.
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