Westminster today: Amber Rudd defends government over Windrush scandal as Theresa May insists 'hostile environment' will stay - as it happened

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David Davis on Brexit trade bill: hardest part is proving 'what have we got for this?'

Amber Rudd has defended the government over the Windrush fiasco as she appeared in front of the Home Affairs Committee.

Jeremy Corbyn had earlier called on the Home Secretary to “take responsibility and resign” over the scandal, which has engulfed the government in recent days.

During Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Corbyn also challenged Theresa May to explain why she ignored Home Office warnings about the potential discrimination caused by the “hostile environment” policies introduced during Ms May’s tenure at the Home Office.

He pointed to an internal memo from the department in 2014 which said the approach could make it harder for people, such as the Windrush generation, to find homes and “provoke discrimination”.

Ms May, formerly home secretary, replied by quoting Labour's Liam Byrne talking of a hostile environment when immigration minister under the previous Labour administration.

As it happened...

Key Points

• David Davis says MPs will be able to amend final Brexit motion
• Theresa May and Boris Johnson clash over immigration
• Dozens of MPs accompany Labour's Ruth Smeeth to give evidence at hearing of Labour member who heckled her at antisemitism event

[25 April 2018 09:02 · Kristin Hugo]

Welcome to The Independent's live coverage from Westminster on what is certain to be a busy day in Parliament.

[25 April 2018 09:05 · Kristin Hugo]

With the Windrush scandal and the government's immigration policy set to dominate the agenda for another day, reports suggest Theresa May and Boris Johnson clashed over the issue during yesterday's cabinet meeting. The Foreign Secretary is said to have re-iterated calls for an amnesty for immigrants - but was rebuked by the Prime Minister. Full story: 

[25 April 2018 09:29 · Kristin Hugo]

David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, is currently taking questions from the Brexit committee. He confirms that the "meaningful vote" Parliament will be given on the final Brexit deal will be amendable - meaning MPs could add conditions forcing the government to, for example, hold a referendum on the deal.

He says he remains confident a deal on the UK's future relationship with the EU is achievable by the autumn. Asked whether negotiations could drag on into the transition period, due to begin next March, he says "that is not our intention".

Davis says the trade deal he hopes to conclude by the autumn will be more of a "political declaration" than a legally-binding treaty - raising questions about just how binding it will be.

[25 April 2018 09:40 · Kristin Hugo]

David Davis is asked whether the government will back down on its commitment to withdrawing the UK from the EU customs union if MPs vote for an amendment seeking to ensure Britain remains a member.

He says "I'm not going to enter into hypotheticals" and that "I expect the government's policy to be upheld", but adds "the government always respects Parliament"...

[25 April 2018 09:41 · Kristin Hugo]

[25 April 2018 09:45 · Kristin Hugo]

The Brexit Secretary has cast doubt over the government's own Brexit forecasts. 

Asked by Tory MP and Treasury Committee member Stephen Crabb about Treasury studies showing the UK will be worse off outside the single market and customs union, David Davis says:

"I have not been particularly enamoured with mathematical modelling techniques because they all sit on assumptions of what will happen to trade. If you get that assumption wrong, the whole model is wrong."

Asked if he is suggesting the government's own forecasts are incorrect, he says:

"I would say the best modelling in the world is wrong."

[25 April 2018 09:45 · Kristin Hugo]

[25 April 2018 09:55 · Kristin Hugo]

[25 April 2018 10:17 · Kristin Hugo]

David Davis says he thinks the UK crashing out of the EU without a trade deal is "unlikely". He responds to a question from Labour MP Seema Malhotra by saying:

"The complete absence of any outcome is unlikely - you might up with a bare bones deal or a whole series of bilateral deals...I do not think no deal is a significant probability at all. I think the massively higher probability is a deal."

[25 April 2018 10:17 · Kristin Hugo]

You can watch Davis Davis' evidence to the Brexit committee live here: