Brexit - as it happened: Philip Hammond challenges Brussels over City deal as EU warns against 'pick and mix' approach

Welcome to The Independent's politics liveblog, where we will be bringing you the latest updates from Westminster throughout the day.

Theresa May has vowed to challenge Saudi Arabia over its human rights record and its role in the devastating civil war in Yemen as the Crown Prince jets into London for high-level talks.

Read our preview piece here:

Saudi Arabia’s new crown prince Mohammed bin Salman arrives in London today for a three-day visit.

Middle East reporter Bethan McKernan has written a helpful profile of the powerful heir to the throne and what his visit to the UK could mean.

Another story dominating the headlines is the apparent poisoning of Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, who are fighting for their lives in hospital.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd will chair a meeting of the Government's emergency Cobra committee this morning, where she be briefed on the suspected attack by senior police, intelligence and counter terror officials.

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More on this story here:

Brexit is also top of the agenda as Chancellor Philip Hammond will make a major speech challenging "sceptics" in Brussels who say agreeing a trade deal with the UK that includes financial services is impossible.

Meanwhile in Brussels, European Council President Donald Tusk will set out the EU's position on the next phase of talks. The bloc is expected to push back at Theresa May's Brexit terms, which she outlined in her Mansion House speech last week.

The UK’s trade with more than 70 countries will “fall off a cliff” after Brexit, causing “significant” economic problems, unless the Government takes urgent action, MPs have warned.

The International Trade Committee said ministers need to “urgently” clarify how they will “roll over” trade deals with other countries that the UK currently has access to via the EU.

The Government’s failure to provide key details of this process will work is “disturbing” and risks causing a major hit to the economy when Britain leaves the EU, it said.

Aid money will be given to help powerless women in poor countries build better lives in memory of murdered MP Jo Cox, the International Development Secretary has announced.

Penny Mordaunt called for everyone to "raise their game" to make gender equality a reality ahead of International Women's Day.

Jo Cox Memorial Grants funded by £10 million of UK Aid Direct cash will be made to grassroots organisations on issues the Labour MP campaigned on.

The money will be used to help the voices of girls and women be heard when holding people in power to account, as well as supporting them to find work and improving access to family planning services.

Ahead of a speech in London, Ms Mordaunt said: "Jo was a dedicated humanitarian who fought for gender equality at home and in developing countries, and her passion and commitment will continue to support the world's most disadvantaged and disenfranchised women through these new UK aid grants.

"The MeToo movement has sent shockwaves around the world and given a voice to millions of women, but the majority of women and girls in the poorest countries are still not heard.

"We all have the power to change this injustice and that's why UK aid is keeping girls in school, stamping out violence and giving a voice to women both at home and in shaping the future of their countries.

"It is only by everyone raising their game and making gender equality a reality that we will build a more peaceful, safe and prosperous world for us all."

Kim Leadbeater, Mrs Cox's sister, said: "Jo spent 20 years working in the voluntary sector and working overseas.

"These grants are a reminder of that and a reminder of her passion and her determination to hopefully inspire others with similar desires.

"Jo would be over the moon."

Plenty on in the House of Commons today, to cap off a busy day all round.

An interesting debate is underway in Westminster Hall at the moment, led by Labour's Melanie Onn, over making misogyny a specific hate crime.

Labour's Melanie Onn is calling for a law change to make it a specific hate crime, to bolster protections against sexual harassment and abuse. Ms Onn says 85 per cent of women have been on the receiving end of unwanted attention. 

She says she has received a "vile backlash" since calling for the debate, full of "aggressive" suggestions that she "can't take a joke".

Here's our most recent story on the calls:

Labour's Stella Creasy says women cannot walk down the street in the daytime without fear, let along at night, while workplaces are often places they do not feel safe.

Ms Creasy says she was followed by a man when leaving Parliament just a few days ago, who "would not take no for an answer", and kept putting his arms around her.

She says Nottingham Police's pilot scheme - where they have recorded misogyny as a hate crime - has "changed the conversation" about what is acceptable conduct.

Women living in fear is a "damning indictment" of men in this country, she warned, and this move could help to change the narrative around male behaviour.