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As it happenedended

PMQs today: Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn clash over Brexit as Tory MPs issue demands over EU deal - as it happened

All the latest updates from Westminster, as they happened

Lizzy Buchan
Political Correspondent
Wednesday 21 February 2018 04:41 EST
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Theresa May responds to high court ruling that air pollution plan is 'unlawful'

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Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn clashed over Brexit at the first Prime Minister’s Questions since the parliamentary recess.

The Labour leader mocked David Davis' assurances that Brexit will not result in a "Mad Max-style world borrowed from dystopian fiction", and asked the Prime Minister if the Government could set the bar "just a little bit higher".

Ms May reiterated her desire for a "bespoke economic partnership" with the EU amid renewed pressure from her own party as more than 60 Tory MPs signalled they could remove their support if Ms May tried to pursue a softer Brexit.

The powerful European Research Group - led by arch eurosceptic Jacob Rees-Mogg - intervened ahead of crunch Cabinet talks on Thursday where the Prime Minister will strive to unite warring factions over the future relationship with the EU.

It comes as the Government asked the EU to consider granting the UK a longer Brexit transition period than the one proposed by Brussels.

See below for live updates

Lizzy Buchan21 February 2018 13:01

Jeremy Hunt says there must be safeguards to protect against the "unintended consequences" of progress, and admits patients and families have had to spend "too much time" trying to be heard.

He says the stress of campaigning in the face of a "closed ranks, defensive system has added insult to injury for too many families".

Lizzy Buchan21 February 2018 13:05

Lizzy Buchan21 February 2018 13:06

Shadow Health Secretary Jon Ashworth pays tribute to the bravery of patients who have campaigned for justice.

He welcomes the move but describes vaginal mesh as a "public health scandal" and urges Mr Hunt to suspend its use while the review is ongoing.

Ashworth says the announcement "falls short" of the full public inquiry demanded by MPs and campaigners. He asks if patients can be given a full apology by the Government.

Jeremy Hunt says its vital to reach out to families who are "deeply scarred" by their experience and outlines his commitment to making sure patients are heard.

Lizzy Buchan21 February 2018 13:08

SNP's Martyn Day says some campaigners may consider this a "review of reviews" and asks how patients can be reassured about the chair's independence - and whether it is a "government whitewash".

Professor Alison Britton is already leading a review in Scotland, where the issue is reserved to the Scottish Government, he says.

Mr Hunt says it is "uncharitable" to say its a review of reviews as everything he announced would begin immediately.

Lizzy Buchan21 February 2018 13:21
Lizzy Buchan21 February 2018 13:30

Former Lib Dem Cabinet minister Ed Davey says there has been a "decades-long cover up" over Primodos.

Jeremy Hunt says unfortunately scientists do not agree on the drug's side effects, which has made it difficult for the Government to act.

Tory Sir Mike Penning said there would be "huge disappointment" on the Primodos campaign, over the evidence put forward. He said the Department of Health's involvement would give much confidence to patients, who had been prescribed the drug by GPs.

Lizzy Buchan21 February 2018 13:34

Labour is on course for a major election triumph in London that will see it seize Tory strongholds and win a greater share of the vote than any party for 50 years, a new poll has indicated.

The YouGov survey for Queen Mary University of London recorded 54 per cent of voters in the capital saying they would vote for the party in May's elections, compared to just 28 per cent for the Conservatives. 

Story here:

Lizzy Buchan21 February 2018 13:52

The Government's plans to tackle air pollution have been declared "unlawful" in a High Court ruling that condemned their inadequacy. Environmental lawyers from ClientEarth won a legal challenge launched last month against official proposals for reducing illegal levels of harmful nitrogen dioxide, most of which comes from vehicles.

Full story here:

Lizzy Buchan21 February 2018 14:05

The husband of a British citizen jailed in Iran has delivered letters of support for his wife to the Iranian embassy.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian dual citizen, is serving a five-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2016 of spying charges, which she denies.

Richard Ratcliffe delivered the letters on Wednesday morning in the hope that they will reach Abbas Araghchi, the deputy foreign minister of Iran, who is currently visiting the UK.

"We're delivering the letters today because of the opportunity of the deputy foreign minister being here," Mr Ratcliffe told the Press Association outside the embassy in Kensington, west London.

"He's here to improve relations between Iran and the UK and we want Nazanin to be right at the front of that."

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a charity worker for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, maintains that she was in Iran to introduce her daughter Gabriella to her parents.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson later told a parliamentary committee that Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been training journalists in Iran, worsening her situation. He later apologised for this.

Mr Ratcliffe was joined at the embassy by campaigners from Amnesty International.

"She is a British citizen, she should be here with her daughter," said Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International UK.

"We will not rest until that is achieved."

Lizzy Buchan21 February 2018 14:18

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