Brexit news: Jeremy Corbyn accuses Theresa May of 'blackmailing' MPs in fiery Commons clash

All the latest updates from Westminster as they happened

'We now all need to hold our nerve and deliver Brexit on time' Theresa May says Brexit talks are at 'cruicial stage'

Theresa May has been accused by Labour of "blackmailing" MPs to get her "botched Brexit deal" over the line after urging MPs to give her more time to secure a breakthrough.

In a fraught Commons clash, Jeremy Corbyn said her only tactic was to "run down the clock" after it emerged that the UK could be days from a no-deal Brexit before parliament votes on her blueprint.

MPs also reacted with anger after the prime minister revealed plans to rip up Commons rules to get a Brexit deal ratified in time for the UK to leave the EU on March 29.

Ms May told MPs that she would enable the Commons to lift a requirement for a 21-day delay before any vote to approve an international treaty.

But shadow Brexit minister Paul Blomfield vowed to oppose the move, adding: “This plan shows contempt for our democracy.

“The government is trying to avoid proper scrutiny and run down the clock in order to force through its bad Brexit deal.”

To follow events as they unfolded, see our live coverage below

Key Points

• Anger as Theresa May sets out plans to rip up Commons rules to get Brexit deal through in time
• EU citizens' children could lose right to stay in the UK, senior MP warns
• UK could be days from crashing out of the EU before MPs vote again on May's deal
• Chris Grayling accused of misleading MPs about Brexit ferry deal costs
• EU unveils plan to keep Eurostar trains running for three months after no-deal Brexit

[12 February 2019 08:37 · Lizzy Buchan]

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

[12 February 2019 08:51 · Lizzy Buchan]

The UK could be just days from crashing out of the EU without an agreement before MPs vote again on Theresa May’s deal, a cabinet minister has admitted.

Andrea Leadsom, the Commons leader, twice failed to rule out a delay until after the next EU summit finishing on March 22 – exactly one week before the scheduled departure day.

The prime minister had to abandon hopes for a second ‘meaningful vote’ this week, after the EU rejected her plea for legal changes to the Irish backstop that could win over the Commons.

Asked if that could mean no vote until “the last few days” before the Brexit cliff edge, Ms Leadsom said: “It is not possible to predict the future.

“But the meaningful vote will come back to parliament as soon as the issue around the backstop has been sorted out.”

[12 February 2019 09:13 · Lizzy Buchan]

'"It is not possible to predict the future" says Andrea Leadsom in her interview on the Today programme. 

Ms Leadsom raised fears of a delay until 'the last few days' of March but insisted the government was not trying to run down the clock ahead of the UK's scheduled EU withdrawal date of March 29.

Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick has filed this take: 

[12 February 2019 09:33 · Lizzy Buchan]

Plenty of anger from pro-EU MPs about the prospect of a delay to the parliamentary vote on May's deal.

[12 February 2019 09:50 · Lizzy Buchan]

Away from today's Brexit row for a moment - A snap general election would deliver Theresa May the slenderest possible majority in the House of Commons, according to a new poll.

The YouGov survey for The Times found that Conservatives would increase their 317-seat tally by four to 321, with Labour shedding 12 MPs to end up with 250.

Such a result would leave the PM short of commanding half of the 650 MPs, she could expect a wafer-thin working majority due to the fact that the Speaker and his deputies do not vote and Sinn Fein's MPs do not traditionally take their seats.

This unusually large poll - of 40,000 voters in Britain - used a model that correctly predicted the 2017 snap election result.

[12 February 2019 10:08 · Lizzy Buchan]

Labour MPs have attacked the party leadership's response to antisemitism after senior officials admitted that only 12 of almost 700 reports of alleged anti-Jewish abuse had resulted in members being expelled.

MPs and peers used their weekly meeting on Monday night to condemn Jeremy Corbyn and party bosses after Jennie Formby, Labour’s general secretary, emailed MPs with data on investigations into antisemitism.

The figures revealed that of 673 cases of members reported for alleged antisemitism between April 2018 and January 2019, almost a third were dropped without further action.

Full story here: 

[12 February 2019 10:21 · Lizzy Buchan]

Tory MP Daniel Kawcynzski has stopped short of apologising for an incorrect tweet claiming the UK failed to benefit from US aid after the Second World War. You can read our story on it here.

Asked about it on Sky News, he said: "It's very difficult for MPs to get everything across in the limited number of characters".

[12 February 2019 10:38 · Lizzy Buchan]

In the Commons today, we are expecting a statement from Theresa May at about 12.40pm on the progress - or lack of - in the Brexit talks. 

The House sits at 11.30am, starting with business questions with Greg Clark. No news yet on whether there will be any urgent questions that would push the PM's statement back.

[12 February 2019 10:53 · Lizzy Buchan]

Away from the Westminster bubble, the head of the Food and Drink Federation has made some alarming claims about the impact of a no-deal Brexit, saying a number of British businesses are at risk of “extinction”.

Read this from our business editor Caitlin Morrison: 

[12 February 2019 11:04 · Lizzy Buchan]

Interesting - Sky News' deputy political editor thinks the Valentine's Day votes could be coming tomorrow, rather than on Thursday.

No confirmation of this yet, but shows how much is up in the air at the moment. The idea that votes are being shifted to allow MPs to spend the day with loved ones is for the birds though. Much more likely to be a way to limit the time MPs have to table wrecking amendments.