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

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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 13:25 · Kristin Hugo]

Facing pressure over the Windrush fiasco, Theresa May insisted she would stand by the "hostile environment" the government has vowed to create for illegal immigrants. Full story: 

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[25 April 2018 13:54 · Kristin Hugo]

Andrea Leadsom, Leader of the House of Commons, tells the BBC's World at One that remaining in a customs union with the EU after Brexit would be "ludicrous". Theresa May had dogded the issue during PMQs following reports, denied by Downing Street. that she may be willing to U-turn on her commitment to withdrawing Britain from the bloc...

[25 April 2018 14:18 · Kristin Hugo]

MPs have warned that the Department for Business is woefully unprepared for Brexit, saying they have "grave concerns" over ministers' apparent complacency on the matter: 

[25 April 2018 14:42 · Kristin Hugo]

Around 40 MPs joined Labour's Ruth Smeeth this morning as she went to give evidence against Labour member Marc Wadsworth, who was suspended after heckling her at the launch of the party's report on antisemitism in 2016 

[25 April 2018 15:23 · Kristin Hugo]

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey, a staunch ally of Jeremy Corbyn, has written an article for the New Statesman in which he expresses "disgust" at Labour MPs he claims are trying to undermine the Labour leader and "working overtime trying to present the Labour Party as a morass of misogyny, antisemitism and bullying".

He writes:

"I look with disgust at the behaviour of the Corbyn-hater MPs who join forces with the most reactionary elements of the media establishment and I understand why there is a growing demand for mandatory reselection.

"To watch as these so-called social democrats tried to demean and attack, in front of our enemy, a decent and honourable man who has fought racism and anti-Semitism all his life and who has breathed life and hope back into the hearts of millions, especially the young, made my stomach churn."

[25 April 2018 16:47 · Kristin Hugo]

Amber Rudd has started giving evidence to the Home Affairs Committee - and the Home Secretary appears to be in listening mode. She asks Yvette Cooper, the chair of the committee, how far back she thinks the Home Office should go when trying to find out whether any Windrush-generation immigrants have been unfairly detained. Cooper says at least the last few years, and ideally as far back as possible. Rudd says she will take the suggestion on board.

[25 April 2018 16:51 · Kristin Hugo]

Asked when she first became aware of the issues facing Windrush-generation immigrants, Amber Rudd says:

"I became aware over the past few months that there was a problem of individuals that I was seeing...I bitterly, deeply regret that I didn't see it as more than individual cases that had gone wrong that needed addressing. I didn't see it as a systemic issue until very recently." 

[25 April 2018 16:57 · Kristin Hugo]

BREAKING: The government has suffered another defeat in the House of Lords on their flagship Brexit bill - the fourth in the space of a week. This was the biggest yet in terms of numbers, with peers voting by a majority of 128 against plans to give ministers the right to use "Henry VIII powers" to amend legislation without parliamentary approval.

[25 April 2018 17:12 · Kristin Hugo]

That's all for today - thanks for following our live Westminster coverage.