Jeremy Corbyn has clashed with Theresa May over failings related to the government’s flagship welfare programme, claiming the prime minister is “pouring petrol” on the “burning injustices” she set out to resolve.
As the roll-out of universal credit accelerates, the Labour leader criticised the highly-contentious policy, saying that it is forcing more children into poverty and driving claimants to use food banks in greater numbers.
"The prime minister is not challenging the burning injustices in our society, she's pouring petrol on the crisis. When will she stop inflicting misery on the people of this country," Mr Corbyn said.
It came as speculation swirled around Westminster over a plot to oust Ms May as prime minister from her own backbenchers.
Members of the European Research Group (ERG), an influential group of Tory Eurosceptics, spent nearly an hour war-gaming plans to oust the prime minister over her Brexit blueprint at a meeting on Tuesday night.
However senior figures, including ex-Brexit secretary David Davis and Jacob Rees-Mogg, distanced themselves from reports of plans to oust Ms May from Downing Street.
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Two alleged Russian spies who launched the Salisbury attack smuggled novichok into the UK through Gatwick Airport, the security minister has confirmed.
Ben Wallace told the House of Commons there was “clearly some form of attempt to create a legend to make sure that they circumvented our checks”.
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While defending Jeremy Corbyn, the party’s deputy leader, Mr Watson, said Jennie Formby, who was appointed to the position in April, had “staked” her career on dealing within antisemitism in Labour.
Jacob Rees-Mogg and his family have been ambushed by protesters outside his home in Westminster.
Footage posted on Tuesday by Class War, an organisation claiming to be a “working class action group”, showed police standing guard as a small group of demonstrators confronted the Conservative MP, his wife, four of his six children, and their nanny.
The protest has drawn widespread criticism from across the political divide, due to the presence of the Brexiteer's young children.
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Conservative MEPs have given their support to the authoritarian government of Viktor Orban in a crunch vote in the European Parliament.
Almost all of the politicians representing Theresa May’s party voted against a motion to censure the Hungarian leader, which in the end was overwhelmingly passed.
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"People want to live their lives as they do now and that is what the Chequers plan delivers."
Jennie Formby, who took up the post in April, has "staked her career on dealing with antisemitism in our party", he told Good Morning Britain.
Mr Watson admitted that the issue should have been dealt with earlier but defended Jeremy Corbyn, saying he was taking the issue very seriously.
Earlier this week, Mr Corbyn refused to intervene to prevent local activists targeting his internal party critics on subjects including antisemitism, with MPs including the chairwoman of Labour Friends of Israel targeted by no confidence votes.
Mr Watson told GMB: "We should have dealt with it earlier. We have hired a new general secretary who has staked her career on dealing with anti-Semitism in our party.
"She has been in post for three or four months. If I come here again at Christmas and she has not dealt with it, then you may be asking me why she is still in post."
Labour's Anna McMorrin said the Cabinet Office was preparing for the "very real threat" of no deal by undertaking civil contingency planning and holding Cobra meetings.
Speaking in the Commons, she said: "We know the Cabinet Office is preparing for the very real threat that is no deal, with secret Cobra meetings and civil contingency planning.
"Business leaders are warning of the disaster of a no deal or a bad deal. Isn't it about time we put this decision, the biggest facing our generation, back to the people for a people's vote?"
David Lidington, May's de facto deputy, did not deny the claim, saying it was right that the civil contingency secretariat plays an "active part in contingency planning for all eventualities."
The Archbishop of Canterbury has called for the government to halt the introduction of Universal Credit as he claimed the use of zero hours contracts is "the reincarnation of an ancient evil".
In a major speech to the TUC conference in Manchester, Justin Welby said the controversial welfare changes, which merge six existing benefits into one payment, have "left too many people worse off".
Ministers must "stop rolling it out" until they have found a way to stop the "intense suffering", he said.
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Deputy leader Nigel Dodds said: "The paper makes clear that, in the event of a free trade deal being negotiated with the EU, there are sensible practical measures which can ensure there will be no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.
"It therefore accurately reflects the fact that the border issue is no impediment to the negotiation by the UK of a comprehensive trade deal with the EU. This a position we have consistently articulated.
"For too long some have used the border issue, and the political process in Northern Ireland more generally, to try to mould Brexit to their way of thinking or to thwart it altogether. That should stop."
He told Anna Foster on BBC Radio 5 Live that talk of a coup was "totally overblown" and he would "stamp" on any that he found.
He confirmed he was not at a meeting of the ERG on Tuesday night, adding: "You get 50 MPs of any political party together and you're always going to get some that are going to start arguing the toss about ridiculous issues.
"All I would say to them is: Stop it, it's just stupid. If you've got nothing better to do, go and find yourself some work, because that's the best cure for stupid personality nonsense".
My colleague Rob Merrick attended the ERG meeting earlier and has done a write-up on their proposals.
Claims by pro-Brexit Tories to have found a solution to the Irish border controversy were undermined when they admitted there was “nothing new” in their proposals.
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The Independent has launched its #FinalSay campaign to demand that voters are given a voice on the final Brexit deal.
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