Michael Russell, the Scottish government’s Brexit minister, has been updating Holyrood this afternoon on his work, including further detail from Monday’s meeting of the devolved leaders at Downing Street. It would be fair to say that the mood remains bullish, with Russell telling MSPs that the talks had “made it clearer than ever that there is at present no coherent UK plan”.

He went on:

But there has to be a Scottish plan, and ideally that should be one that is good for the UK too. Alongside our efforts to influence the United Kingdom to adopt a soft Brexit with continued membership of the single market the Scottish Government will bring forward our own detailed proposals to protect Scotland’s interests by the end of this year.

Russell said that a key part of these proposals would be setting out ways in which Scotland can remain in the single market, even if the rest of the UK leaves.

He also reported that, on a visit to Brussels last week, he had met Guy Verhofstadt, part of the European Parliament’s Brexit negotiating team, who – much to the Scottish government’s delight - is previously on record saying: “If Scotland decides to leave the UK, to be an independent state, and they decide to be part of the EU, I think there is no big obstacle to do that.”

The difficulties in concluding an EU-Canada trade deal show the importance of Britain reaching an agreement over its future relationship with the EU before it leaves the bloc, international trade secretary Liam Fox has said.

Reuters reports that Fox told the Commons European scrutiny committee that the seven years it has taken to reach the CETA deal and the delays in signing it after it was rejected by a Belgian regional authority showed the difficulty of doing a deal with such a large number of partners.

Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty allows for an initial two year period of divorce talks before Britain leaves the bloc. Any agreement reached in that time would not be subject to the same level of vetos as a free trade agreement (FTA), he said.

That sort of procedure would only be undertaken were we to leave the European Union after our Article 50 period without any agreement whatsoever and were looking to seek a new FTA from outside.

It’s in the interests quite clearly following this (CETA) experience for all concerned to minimise any sort of economic trade and political disruption to ensure that’s done with the minimum of fuss.

Staying with the Richmond Park byelection, the Lib Dem leader, Tim Farron, has said it represents an an opportunity to “send a message” to Theresa May over her “hard Brexit” strategy and change the direction of the country, the Press Association reports.

Speaking on Richmond Green, directly below the Heathrow flight path, Farron pitched his party as the “only clear, electable alternative” to Goldsmith.

On the face of it the Lib Dems have a mountain to climb. Goldsmith held the south-west London constituency with an increased majority of more than 23,000 in last year’s general election and his stand on Heathrow is likely to be highly popular locally.

But, heartened by a strong performance in David Cameron’s former constituency of Witney last week, Farron said his party were determined to take the fight to Goldsmith.

He said:

We start here as second favourites, there’s no two ways about it, there’s a big mountain to climb, but it’s one we’re determined to have a good crack at.

The ability for people of Richmond Park to really change the way our country heads is over Brexit - are we going to leave the EU or are we going to leave the single market, risking jobs and livelihoods in this part of London?

If you want to stop Theresa May taking us down this extreme path that no-one voted for, then a vote for the Liberal Democrats will send a powerful message and could literally change the direction of our country.”

Farron suggested he would not be moving to parachute a big name in to contest the seat, saying it was a matter for the local party.

He said:

The reason why the announcement was made this week is because we now have a Conservative Government without the Liberal Democrats stopping them, so the Liberal Democrats are the only people who have stopped the third runway so far.

It’s a confusing choice in some sense, because (Goldsmith), who says he’s opposed to Heathrow, is being supported by a party which is making the Heathrow expansion happen.

To vote for Zac Goldsmith is basically to give succour to a Tory government that is expanding Heathrow.

Activists are set to pour the Richmond Park constituency in a bid to capitalise on their success in last week’s by-election.

The Conservative majority in former prime minister Mr Cameron’s old seat was slashed from 25,000 to 5,700 with a 19% swing, while the Lib Dems came second despite having finished a distant fourth in 2015.

The Lib Dems held Richmond Park until 2010. It is one of their biggest local parties with 800 members, and it enjoys support in neighbouring seats as well.

The constituency voted 69% for Remain in the referendum while Goldsmith was among the leading Conservatives campaigning for Leave.

Compass has joined Labour MPs Clive Lewis, Lisa Nandy and Jonathan Reynolds in calling for the party not to put forward a candidate to run against Zac Goldsmith in the forthcoming Richmond Park byelection.

The soft left pressure group said in a statement:

The Richmond Park by-election is a huge progressive opportunity. Zac Goldsmith ran a racially divisive campaign for the London mayoralty, and was staunchly in favour of the Leave side in this year’s referendum. Now, his decision to trigger this latest contest – in which he is the de facto Tory candidate – offers a chance to reject the politics of division, reduce the Tories’ already slender majority, oppose “hard” Brexit in a seat that was overwhelming remain – and show what can happen when progressive parties work together, not against each other.

This is why we are calling on the progressive parties to get round the table and agree which has the maximum chance of defeating the Tories. The Lib Dems held the seat until 2010 when they got 43% of the vote – and the result of the Witney by-election suggests they could win in Richmond Park if other progressive parties agree not to run competing candidates that simply wastes votes and let the Tories in.

It calls on the Lib Dems to select a pro-European anti-third runway candidate and says there should be reciprocal alliances in future to prevent Tory candidates getting in.

The statement concludes:

There is a precedent. Such an alliance worked in Tatton in 1997 when the progressive parties put the national interest before party interest and stood down to defeat the Tories. It is such a moment once more.

Much to the annoyance of many commentators watching PMQs, Jeremy Corbyn did not bring up Theresa’s secret speech to Goldman Sachs warning of the dangers of Brexit. Here, the Guardian’s home affairs editor, Alan Travis, explains why what she said is important:

It clearly shows that in private she was prepared to articulate a much stronger attachment to staying in the European Union than the lukewarm public support she gave to the remain campaign in the one major public speech she made during the campaign.

There is also a reason to believe that the Goldman Sachs speech was much closer to her own personal views because they reflect the fact that May’s entire career before going into politics was at the Bank of England and as a European lobbyist for the financial service industry...

Carefully calculated shifts in language have led some to conclude she is now set on the path to hard Brexit. But her private Goldman Sachs speech just five months ago makes clear that she personally believes a future out of the single market means a business exodus from Britain.

Perhaps she should spell out her views about hard Brexit to the British people rather than giving American bankers the inside track.

Amnesty International UK has backed Jeremy Corbyn’s stance on Saudi Arabia. During PMQs the Labour leader urged Theresa May to stop selling arms to the kingdom because of its attacks in Yemen.

Amnesty International UK’s arms control director Oliver Sprague said:

Week in week out we’ve documented the Saudi Arabia-led coalition’s appalling attacks on homes, hospitals and funeral halls in Yemen, and week in week out the Government has ducked the need to stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia.

It’s simply not good enough.

Instead of retreating into vague remarks about ‘issues being investigated’, Theresa May should order an immediate halt to all further arms sales to Saudi Arabia, as well as a full inquiry into what part British weaponry may have played in fuelling the terrible conflict in Yemen.

Here is a fuller account of Corbyn’s attack on May during PMQs accusing her of lacking a Brexit plan:

On Monday, you told the House, ‘We have a plan which is not to set out at every stage of the negotiations the details’.

I’ve been thinking about this for a couple of days. I think when you’re searching for the real meaning and the importance behind the prime minister’s statement, you have to consult the great philosophers.

The only one I could come up with is Baldrick, who says, ‘Our cunning plan is to have no plan’.

Brexit was apparently about taking back control but the devolved governments don’t know the plan, businesses don’t know the plan, Parliament doesn’t know the plan. When will the prime minister abandon this shambolic Tory Brexit and develop a plan that delivers for the whole country?”

Earlier he joked that he feared May would say “Brexit means Brexit” again.

May replied:

You try to poke fun at the phrase ‘Brexit means Brexit’ but the whole point is this - it’s this government that’s listening to the voice of the British people.

Brexit means Brexit, that means we’re coming out of the European Union.

What you try to be doing is frustrating the will of the British people by saying that Brexit means something completely different.

Tony Robinson has responded on Twitter to being mentioned in PMQ (which has now finished):

And in response to May saying he used to be a Labour party member ...

There is another question about mental health from a Labour MP, this time Luciana Berger who wants to know when there will be “real equality” for mental health.

May says the government is spending record amounts on mental health while acknowledging there is more to do.

After Tory MP Helen Whately praises the PM for mentioning mental health on the steps of Number 10 when taking office, May points out the increasing number of people accessing mental health services and talking therapies since 2010.

Plaid Cymru MP Hywel Williams asks whether Wales will get a good deal, soft Brexit, like the City of London, suggests the government is picking winners.

The PM says she is committed to ensuring all parts of the UK get a good deal.

Twickenham Tory MP Tania Mathis criticises the decision to give the green light to a third runway at Heathrow and asks how pollution limits can be complied with.

May says the evidence shows standards can be met.

Conservative MP Jack Lopresti asks if there are plans to provide specialist medical facilities for Kurdish forces, Peshmerga, in Iraq.

May says there are not.

Labour MP for Bolton South East, Yasmin Qureshi, asks about human rights abuses in Kashmir.

May says it is for India and Pakistan to sort out but the Foreign Secretary has heard her representations.

Alison McGovern, Labour MP for the Wirral, is angry because she believes Theresa May fobbed off her colleague Karl Turner on mental health referring to constituents waits for talking therapies.

Theresa May says she takes the issue vey seriously and looking into availability of and waiting times for talking therapies.

Labour MP Jim Dowd asks whether the PM about putting mandatory health warnings on alcoholic products in light of this week’s concerning report about excessive consumption, which found women drinking as much as men.

May says she helped develop the alcohol strategy with industry when Home Secretary.

SDLP MP Alasdair McDonnell asks about the impact of Brexit on the Good Friday agreement.

The PM assures him it will have no impact.

Sir David Amess, Tory, Southend West says now we know, via the Chilcot report, that parliament was misled, does the PM have a “cunning plan” to ensure action is taken.

May says the report found that there was no deliberate attempt to mislead but lessons should be learned.

Labour MP Karl Turner says his nephew committed suicide last year and attacks waiting times for mental health problems in the NHS.

May says it is a priority and assures him the government is committed to parity of esteem for mental and physical health.

Bizarrely there is a second question about West Midlands devolution before Helen Hayes, Labour MP for Dulwich and West Norwood, asks if the prime minister will meet with her and sexual abuse survivors to ensure that confidence in the independent inquiry into sex abuse can be restored.

May says it is an independent inquiry so it is up to the inquiry chair to listen to the concerns of victims and survivors but says she will take away the points Hayes has raised and consider them.

Christopher Chope, Tory, asks about Christchurch and East Dorset councils then the SNP’s Angus Robertson asks about the humanitarian crisis in Aleppo and asks if the prime minister if she will join him in urging Spain to reject the refuelling of Russian ships en route to Syria.

May doesn’t answer the question directly but says pressure should be brought to bear on Russia.

Corbyn asks if May will stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia given the kingdom’s activities in Yemen.

The PM doesn’t respond directly to the question but highlights the importance of the UK’s relationship with the kingdom.

Corbyn says with threats of businesses leaving the UK it is imperative that the prime minister “come up with a plan”.

May said she has been very clear that she wants the UK to trade within the single market and restrict free movement. Labour is opposed to free trade but wants unrestricted movement, says May.

In response to Corbyn’s question about the Ireland/Northern Ireland border, May says “no one wants to see a return to the borders of the past”.

Corbyn quotes Baldrick from Blackadder with respect to May’s plan for Brexit:

Our cunning plan is to have no plan.

May says in response that the actor playing Baldrick (Tony Robinson) was a member of the Labour party.

To laughter, given today’s revelations, May says she has been “very clear” about the aims of Brexit. She also pays tribute to Boles.

To more laughter, Corbyn says he thought for a moment she was going to say “Brexit means Brexit.”

May then chides Corbyn for lampooning her, saying he is trying to make Brexit mean something else.

Jeremy Corbyn welcomes the child refugees from Calais “we should welcome them, we should love them”. He also pays tribute to Nick Boles MP who announced this morning that he was battling cancer. He asks for clarity over Brexit.

Conservative MP James Morris encourages the PM to devolve more powers to the West Midlands and praises Tory mayor candidate.

Unsurprisingly May concurs.

What should we be looking out for in PMQs?

Will Jeremy Corbyn seek to grill Theresa May about her pre-Brexit speech at Goldman Sachs and contrast her comments then with her stance now and also those she made publicly during the referendum campaign?

Other subjects on the table could include Heathrow and Calais.

Ukip has come out fighting after the president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, referred the altercation between two of its MEPs - former leadership favourite Steven Woolfe (who subsequently quit the party) and Mike Hookem - to the French police.

The call by three Labour MPs for the party not to stand a candidate in Richmond to help the Lib Dems defeat Zac Goldmith (see previous post) has fallen on closed ears, according to Paul Waugh.

On Labour list, MPs Clive Lewis, Lisa Nandy and Jonathan Reynolds write that Labour should consider - like the Tories, albeit for different reasons - not standing a candidate against Zac Goldsmith in the Richmond byelection triggered by his resignation over Heathrow expansion.

They say:

With the Tories not standing against him, the fight will come down to a two way contest between him and the Liberal Democrats, whose vote will be split with the greens and Labour.

If there is any chance of kicking Goldsmith out of parliament, the vote against him must not be split. That’s why we think Labour should consider not standing a candidate in this by-election.

Clearly such a decision must have the support of the local CLP. Such a decision must not be imposed from above. It will also mean the Liberal Democrats understanding this isn’t a free ride. With the upcoming local elections next May there may well be seats where Labour (or possibly the Greens) could be given a clear run against their Tory opponents, with local consent.

They describe the byelection as a “vanity project” on Goldsmith’s part, and criticise him for his pro-Brexit stance and the much-criticised campaign he ran against Sadiq Khan in an attempt to be elected mayor of London.

Some sad news to report: Conservative former minister Nick Boles has revealed that he is battling against cancer for a second time.

Boles beat the disease nine years ago. Referencing a parody account popular with Westminster insiders, he added:

Boles managed Michael Gove’s failed Tory leadership bid after the EU referendum and was forced to apologise after it emerged he had encouraged tactical voting because he was “seriously frightened” about Andrea Leadsom getting on to the ballot.

The former skills minister quit the government when Theresa May won the contest and took over as prime minister.

A close ally of David Cameron, he was part of the informal “Notting Hill set” of modernising Tories and his work with the Policy Exchange think-tank before becoming an MP in 2010 helped frame the former PM’s agenda as leader.

Here is what Paddy Ashdown makes about May’s comments:

Here is a round-up of what the rest of the media is saying about the leaked Theresa May comments on Brexit.

The Telegraph’s political editor, Peter Dominiczak, writes that May “was seen as a ‘reluctant remainer’” during the run-up to the referendum and compares the comments at Goldman Sachs with those she made in a public speech. He says:

Ahead of the vote she made a speech which offered cautious backing to staying in the EU, but with the caveat that there are “problems” associated with membership and that the UK “could cope” outside the bloc.

She added at the time that the UK is “big enough and strong enough to be a success story in or out of the EU”.

Michael Savage, chief political correspondent for the Times, writes:

While it is public knowledge that Mrs May backed the Remain campaign, the recording will come as an embarrassment.

Her remarks appear to go further than the cautious backing she gave to the Remain camp, led by David Cameron. During the referendum campaign, her lukewarm support for Remain led Mr Cameron’s communications chief Craig Oliver to wonder if she was secretly an “enemy agent” for the Brexit camp.

Jon Craig, chief political correspondent for Sky News, writes:

Although No 10 insists Mrs May’s Goldman Sachs remarks were entirely consistent with her public statements, they strike a different tone from her comments about Brexit since becoming Prime Minister.

At the Conservative party conference Mrs May said that she wanted to prioritise reducing immigration over being part of the single market.

Under the headline “What the PM really thinks of Brexit”, the Mail’s chief political correspondent, Daniel Martin, writes:

The comments, revealed in the Guardian, are stronger than her more nuanced public position during the referendum campaign.

Although she was a Remain supporter, No 10 was worried about her lukewarm support for EU membership.

Last night Downing Street said that whatever Mrs May had said before June 23, the government was committed to honouring the result of the referendum.

The recording reveals Mrs May had numerous concerns about Britain leaving the EU. She appeared to go further than her public remarks to explain more clearly the economic benefits of staying in the EU when speaking at the bank in London on 26 May.

Beneath a similar headline the Express writes:

The audio, leaked by The Guardian newspaper, will heap further pressure on Mrs May who was lacklustre in her support for the Remain campaign and has enthusiastically embraced Brexit since the June 23 vote.

She made almost no public pronouncements of note during the referendum campaign, reportedly drawing the ire of David Cameron and his Project Fear camp, who questioned his once-time close ally’s loyalty.

Politics Home notes:

The recordings reveal more about the prime minister’s personal beliefs over Brexit than her public offerings about the benefits of staying in the bloc, where she was known as a reluctant Remainer.

Unsurprisingly, Theresa May is facing flak following the revelation that she warned about the economic consequences of a Brexit vote at a private meeting before the referendum.

My colleague Rowena Mason has written a story on the reaction to the leaked recording. It includes the following comments:

My colleague Rowena Mason has written a story on the reaction to the leaked recording.

Among others who have commented are:

Andrew Gwynne, the shadow minister without portfolio:

As if we needed it, this recording is cast-iron evidence of how Theresa May and other senior Tories have been saying one thing in private about the economic impact of Brexit and another in the comfort of Tory conference halls.

It’s plain that she recognises what a disaster it would be for Britain to lose access to the single market, so why doesn’t she be honest with the British people and say how she plans to retain it

Andrew Gwynne, the shadow minister without portfolio, said:

As if we needed it, this recording is cast-iron evidence of how Theresa May and other senior Tories have been saying one thing in private about the economic impact of Brexit and another in the comfort of Tory conference halls.

It’s plain that she recognises what a disaster it would be for Britain to lose access to the single market, so why doesn’t she be honest with the British people and say how she plans to retain it.

Tim Farron, the Lib Dem leader, said it was “disappointing that Theresa May lacked the political courage to warn the public as she did a bunch of bankers in private about the devastating economic effects of Brexit”.

He added:

More disappointing is that now she is supposedly in charge, she is blithely ignoring her own warnings and is prepared to inflict an act of monumental self-harm on the UK economy by pulling Britain out of the single market.