Yahoo News PMQs: Tory rebels accuse Theresa May of using 'dark arts' ahead of crucial Brexit vote
Government whips engaging 'dark arts' to force through Brexit Bill
Theresa May tells rebels she will not back down over 'meaningful vote'
The Westminster Brexit pantomime is letting Brussels avoid its own hard choices
Theresa May is facing a knife-edge Commons vote over Brexit as MPs decide on Parliament's role in Britain's exit from the European Union.
Tory rebels believe they can inflict defeat on the Government as the flagship legislation returns to the Commons after the Lords again backed giving MPs a "meaningful" say on the final deal.
The Prime Minister staved off a Tory rebellion on the move last week but faces a bruising battle in the latest round of voting amid claims she failed to implement a compromise that opponents believed they were promised.
But Brexiteers are said to be increasingly confident of victory.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, is expected to use Prime Minister's Questions to highlight the ongoing divisions in the Government over Brexit.
He is also expected to grill Mrs May on her silence over Donald Trump's controversial immigration programme, which has seen young children separated from their parents and placed in holding centres described by activists as "cages".
Labour MP reveals leaked emails from Department for Transport
Lisa Nandy has launched into an attack on the Government's handling of rail chaos, revealing that she had obtained leaked emails from within the department that reportedly show that ministers were warned about the problems up to two years ago.
She claims officials described some Northern rail routes as "valueless", discussed how they could handle MPs who might complain, and demands answers.
Predictably, Mrs May says no Government would ever comment on leaks, especially across the despatch box.
Expect this one to develop over the course of the afternoon.
Trump's immigration policy 'deeply disturbing'
The SNP's spirited Westminster leader receives hearty cheers as he heads once more into the fray. (He got kicked out of the Commons last week, in a way that did not seem staged, whatsoever)
As is custom with the Scottish Nationalists, he delves straight into a question on foreign affairs. He asks what Mrs May makes of Donald Trump's immigration policy, which he says has seen children and babies caged up "like animals".
He asks if the Government is still planning on rolling out the "red carpet" for the President, who is touching down in Britain next month.
In a significant move, Theresa May issues her first criticism of the US President over the policy, stating that the reports are "deeply disturbing" and "wrong" and not something the UK agrees with.
Theresa May finally condemns Donald Trump's policy of separating refugee children from their families and putting them in cages, saying it is 'deeply disturbing' and 'wrong'
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) June 20, 2018
Action, not words.
Jeremy Corbyn says that under Labour's own spending plans the increase in NHS spending would be 5 percent (the Government latest announcement is just 3.4 percent).
Mrs May says it's time to stop looking at what Labour promises to do, and what it actually does. She points to the NHS in Wales (run by Labour) adding that for every pound the Tories put into NHS England the Welsh Government only contributes 84p.
Corbyn resorts to reeling off waiting times, shortages in doctors and nurses, GP numbers and so on. He adds that until Mrs May spells out where exactly the money is coming from, how can the public trust her Government.
May fires back that since its creation 70 years ago, the NHS has been under the stewardship of the Tories for 43 of them.
"We have, despite taking difficult decisions...we have consistently put extra money into the National Health Service," she adds.
Which taxes, and for who?
Mr Corbyn goes again, as he begins to unpick the Brexit dividend.
He says her figures are "so dodgy, they belong on the side of a bus". He adds that he expects it from the Foreign Secretary, but not the PM, who is pushing "Micky Mouse figures".
Mrs May says she's fed up with Mr Corbyn failing to listen to her responses. (That's probably because his answers are prepared in advance).
She says that the spending package for the NHS will be brought forward before the spending review. She says that if Labour is so concerned by tax, why did he oppose the Government's decision to raise the personal allowance for millions of workers.
He dodges.
Corbyn all over the place now. Having attacked May for introducing an NHS stealth tax he's suddenly accusing her of not investing enough.
— (((Dan Hodges))) (@DPJHodges) June 20, 2018
Corbyn questions the NHS 'Brexit dividend'
The Labour leader starts with the big story of the week: a £20bn birthday present for the NHS.
He claims there will be no so-called Brexit dividend until 2022 and the economy is stagnating, as he calls on May to spell out which taxes will rise in order to foot the bill.
But here's the problem: Corbyn said there would be a Brexit dividend just four months ago.
This isn't lost on May, who mocks the Labour leader for his inconsistency, which receive a roar of approval from the Tory backbenchers.
Her jibe also allowed her to get away without answering the question.
Corbyn shrugs it off and says he's glad the Prime Minister is reading his speeches so carefully.
UK leading the way on climate change
Asked by Labour MP Alan Whitehead if she will set a new zero net emissions target for the UK for 2050, Mrs May said that the UK has been at the forefront of climate policy and defends the Government's record.
May using 'dark arts' to try and snatch victory from jaws of defeat
A former minister who resigned in a bid to provide Parliament with a say over the Brexit deal has accused Theresa May of using “dark arts” to try and secure victory in today’s showdown on the EU Withdrawal Bill.
Dr Philip Lee, who quit as a justice minister hours before a series of crucial votes last week, said that he remained confident that Tory rebels would be able to defeat the Government, despite efforts to get them to back down.
It comes as Mrs May told rebel Tory MPs last night she would not back down on the key Brexit vote today, warning them that if they voted against the Government they would be handing victory to Brussels.
Mrs May said she “cannot accept” a Lords amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill that would enable MPs to direct negotiations with the European Union if they do not accept the final Brexit deal.
The Prime Minister believes Government whips can persuade enough of the rebels to back down before the vote takes place, but Dominic Grieve, the leader of the so-called “mutineers” insisted that none of them will change their mind.
Meanwhile, a number of Labour MPs are also expected to defy Jeremy Corbyn and vote against the amendment, with a number believed to have held talks with the Government in recent days.
It is thought that at least six Labour rebels could vote with the Government, while party insiders have told The Daily Telegraph they believe the number will be higher still.
Last week the Government defeated a similar Lords amendment over a so-called “meaningful vote” on the Brexit deal by just 26 votes, meaning that if just 14 MPs switch sides Theresa May will suffer her most damaging defeat to date on Brexit.
But today Dr Lee, who was heavily criticised over his shock resignation last week, claimed that the rebels still had the numbers to secure victory, as he said the Government’s deployment of the “normal dark arts” were “fully expected”.
“My understanding is that the position taken by a number of colleagues is solid, which is why the Government is still in negotiations [with the rebels],” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“We were always going to get the normal dark arts of Westminster taking place, it’s fully expected.
“But I must keep saying that this for me personally is a position of integrity, I believe that Parliament deserves to have a proper role in this process.
“I still have not had an explanation as to why this amendment is not acceptable to the Government.”
Asked what would happen if Parliament was granted a meaningful vote and then rejected the Brexit deal reaches with Brussels, Dr Lee said that there was “an appetite” to delay or suspend the Article 50 process, thereby putting Brexit at risk.
“I took soundings privately before announcing my resignation in [European] capitals, not in Brussels, and I think that there would be an appetite for delaying and suspending Article 50.”
His comments are likely to anger Tory Brexiteers, who have long argued that the meaningful vote could be seized up by Europhile MPs as a means of delaying or preventing Britain from leaving the EU.
Echoing his comments, Dominic Grieve, one of the leading figures in the stand-off, said he expected negotiations to "go right to the wire".
The possibility of a rebellion "all depends on where we go on the negotiations and at the moment I don't know the answer", the former attorney general added.
Under Government plans, if MPs reject the agreement reached by Mrs May with Brussels, or if no deal has been obtained by January 21, Parliament will be offered the opportunity to vote on a "neutral motion" stating it has considered a minister's statement on the issue.
Crucially, the motion will be unamendable, meaning MPs cannot insert a requirement for Mrs May to go back to the negotiating table, extend the Brexit transition or revoke the UK's withdrawal under Article 50.
