You are up to date on the headlines. Now on bbc news wednesday in parliament. Hello again, and welcome to wednesday in parliament. In this programme Prime Ministers questions with a difference. Isnt this a government letting women down . I would say to the honourable lady on the side of the house, we are proud to be on our second female Prime Minister. An mp shares her own experience of Domestic Abuse. Being yelled at in the car with the windows that, no attempts to hide behaviour during constituency engagements, humiliation and embarrassment now added to permanent trepidation and constant hurt and pain. And a familiar face makes a commons comeback. I am pleased that my first speech on my return to the backbenches should be on this topic, a topic on which i have worked both in opposition and in government. More from her later. But first wednesday means Prime Ministers questions. But this week without the Prime Minister. The foreign secretary, dominic raab, stood in for him, wearing his first secretary of state hat and explained why. Thank you, mr speaker. I have been asked to reply my right honourable friend, the Prime Minister, is in manchester for the conservative Party Conference. He is making, as we speak, the keynote speech setting up how we will leave the eu on the 31st of october so that we can get on with our dynamic domestic agenda. Standing in forjeremy corbyn, diane abbott. Last week, my honourable friend, the member for dewsbury, raised the very specific issue of how many, after hundreds of abusive and violent messages she receives, used the Prime Ministers own words. The Prime Minister dismissed these concerns as simply humbug. Since that exchange, my honourable friend has received four further death threats. Some again quoting the Prime Ministers words. Death threats and abuse is something that women across this house experience. Will the foreign secretary take the time out to apologise on behalf of the Prime Minister for his initial dismissive response . She raises the increasing level of online and wider abuse that politicians get on all sides of this house and i think we should come together to be clear, there must be zero tolerance for any abuse or any threat and can i also say i found the level of abuse that the honourable lady has received online to be totally disgusting and totally unacceptable. At the same time, and im sure as a passionate champion of free speech, she will defend our right in this house to defend the issues of substance. The remarks that the Prime Minister made were aimed at in the suggestion that he couldnt describe the surrender act in such terms. It is absolutely clear. It is absolutely clear, given the substance of the legislation, that it would achieve that and undermine the ability of the government to go and get a deal in the eu which on all sides we want to achieve. So we can take it there is no apology from the foreign secretary. I raised a very specific point that the member of dewsbury raised about the abuse she gets using the Prime Ministers own language. Mr speaker, deliberately disturbing billboards showing unborn foetuses have been put up in the london borough. They are upsetting the women walking past, but particularly upsetting for the member for waltham stowe because these billboards are targeted at her in response to her work to decriminalise abortion in Northern Ireland. Abortion in Northern Ireland should be decriminalised on the 21st of october. What will the foreign secretary do to ensure that from later on this month, women in Northern Ireland will have the same human rights to legal and safe abortion as women in england, wales and scotland 7 can i say to the honourable lady, she has referred to the other honourable member and the abuse she received, that i and all members of the house believe it is totally unacceptable. There is a place for free speech but we should never allow that to cross over into abuse or intimidation or harassment. While all honourable members on all sides of the house going about their business. The most important thing we can do on a specific issue she addresses is get the institutions in Northern Ireland back up and running so they can exercise their prerogatives on behalf of the people of Northern Ireland. Diane abbott went on to ask about the impact of benefit changes on women and accuse ministers of not doing enough to help those affected by the collapse of thomas cook. Whether it is women members in this house, women claiming benefits, womens reproductive rights in Northern Ireland, and the failure to support women workers at thomas cook, isnt this government letting women down . I would say to the honourable lady on this side of the house, we are proud to be on our second female Prime Minister. Labour mps pointed out that the conservatives had now moved on from theresa may. The labour front bench are pointing to my honourable friend. I would like to take the opportunity to pay tribute to the honourable member. For her accomplishments in tackling human trafficking, for her accomplishments and drive in tackling violence against women and for the Domestic Violence bill that well be introducing in this house today for further debates. It seems to me that tory members of Parliament May on occasion make women their leaders, but they need to learn. They need to learn how to treat them less cruelly. The snp leader returned to brexit and appealed to other Opposition Mps to help topple borisjohnson. Other parties need to step up at this moment of national crisis. Prepare a vote of no confidence. Ensure a brexit extension. Prevent a no deal. And call a general election. Doing nothing is not an option. We must act. So i ask the foreign secretary, will he give the Prime Minister a message from the Scottish National party . It is not a case of if, but when. We will bring this dangerous government down i have to say to the honourable gentleman, he is at risk of sounding like hes all mouth and no trousers. Laughter. Because he had the chance to vote for a general election and he turned it down. He had the chance to avoid no deal and the best chance now is to back this government in securing a good deal, good for the United Kingdom and good for all corners of the United Kingdom, including the people of scotland. The longest serving mp criticised the Prime Ministers speech and wanted to see the details of his brexit plan. Can the foreign secretary reassure me that, because it seems to me obvious otherwise, this is notjust a Party Political campaigning ploy to blame the European Union for the lack of agreement, and to arouse fury between people and parliament so as to escape from the responsibility which seems to me to lie with the spartans in the far right of the party with whom he and the Prime Minister used to be close allies. Dominic raab said theyd be published later that afternoon. Another former conservative minister asked about borisjohnsons controversial adviser, Dominic Cummings and a newspaper report that suggested anti brexit mps had received foreign funding. How is it that the government is allowing special advisers at number 10 downing st, speaking on behalf of government, to tell outright lies . In this new government, advisers advise and ministers decide. In relation to the legislation, which we have rightly dubbed up the surrender act, it is right that it gets the kind of scrutiny that a government would get. Whether it is the scrutiny from the executive, parliamentary select committees in this house or indeed the declarations own interest that should come forward in a normal way. Dominic raab. A labour mp has made a powerful and emotional speech about her experience of Domestic Abuse. Rosie duffield spoke out during the first debate on the Domestic Abuse bill, which provides the first Legal Definition of Domestic Abuse. She said it had many faces and sometimes there were no bruises. And at the start of the relationship she said abusers didnt present their rage. They dont threaten, criticise, control, or exert their physical activity in frightening ways. Not yet. Not at the start. Not when they think you are sweet, funny and gorgeous. Not when they want to impress you. Not when they turn up to the third date with chocolate, then jewellery. Not when they meet your friends, your parents, or the leader of your political party. They dont do any of that then. It is only later when the door to your home is locked. Only then do you really start to learn what power and control looks and feels like. It is when the ring is on your finger that the mask starts to slip and the promises sound increasingly like threats. It is then you can spend all day after 12 or more hours at work longing to see the person you love, then only to find that on the walk orjourney home they refuse to speak a single solitary word to you. Eventually, at home, they will find a way to let you know which particular sin you have apparently committed. Your dress was too short. The top you wore in the chamber was too low. Or you didnt respond to a message immediately. She talked about the slow disappearance of any kindness, respect or loving behaviour. Every day is emotionally exhausting. Working in a job that you love, but putting on a brave face and pretending all is good, fine, wonderful in fact. Then the pretence and the public face start to drop completely. Being yelled at in the car with the windows down. No attempts to hide behaviour during constituency engagements. Humiliation and embarrassment now added to permanent trepidation and constant hurt and pain. Impossible to comprehend this is the person who tells his family how much he loves you and longs to make you his wife. Eventually, she took his keys and changed the locks. The next few days and weeks were a total hell. Text and calls yelling that, you have locked me out like a dog. Nobody treats me that way. This is the last thing you will ever do. You cry, you grieve for your destroyed dreams, you try to heal, you ignore the e mails from wedding companies. But it is like withdrawal. And it takes six months. But one day, you notice that you are smiling, that it is ok to laugh, and it is a week or two since the daily sobbing stopped. So if anybody is watching and needs a friend, please reach out if it is safe to do so and please talk to any of us because we are here and will hold your hand. The Domestic Abuse bill introduces Domestic Abuse protection orders, which would allow police and courts to intervene earlier where abuse is suspected. And the legislation will also stop abusers cross examining their victim in court. This bill puts victims and the needs of victims front and centre, by providing additional protections, strengthening the response of agencies, and amplifying the voice of victims. Because we are determined to ensure that victims feel safe, and supported, both in seeking help and in the rebuilding of their life. The bill is supported by all parties. We must all commit to making the changes, finding the services, and reducing the tragic consequences we are currently witnessing. We desperately need this legislation to be comprehensive, robust, and fully funded so that we can start punishing the perpetrators and prioritising the victims. This bill will go down in history as a landmark piece of legislation. Lets make it a bill that we can all be proud of. Making her first speech since returning to the backbenches was theresa may, who initiated the legislation. She said it would change lives. I remember as home secretary initiating a campaign of advertisements about what a Good Relationship was. And the saddest thing was reading some of the comments that the young people, particularly young women, made when they had seen those adverts in cinemas and elsewhere. Comments like, i didnt know it was wrong for him to hit me. This is the sadness in our society, of so many people who dont know what a Good Relationship is, and who suffer from that bad relationship, and who suffer in silence, for too many as we have heard for many years suffer in silence before any action is taken. Theresa may. Youre watching wednesday in parliament with me, david cornock. Still to come mps mark black History Month. Details of the Prime Ministers final offer to the eu on brexit came too late for mps to assess them during Prime Ministers questions. But they were published just in time for peers to consider them during a scheduled debate on brexit. Under the plan, Northern Ireland would essentially stay in the european Single Market for goods, and be subject to some eu rules, but leave the customs union. The Northern Ireland assembly which has been suspended since 2017 would have to approve the arrangements first and be able to vote every four years on whether to keep them. Together these proposals respect the decision taken by the people of the uk to leave the eu while dealing pragmatically with decisions consequences in Northern Ireland and in ireland. Together we believe that they will allow us to Reach Agreement with the eu under article 50 and deal the eu with a deal that both respects the referendum results and provides a strong platform for our future relationship. It is telling that this statement is released just as the conservative Party Conference comes to an end. The result of that no doubt was the Prime Minister did not have to debate its contents or merits with the conference itself which might have been a difficult job for him but it means that we and the other place have less time to deal with it. If one looks for the suggestion that it provides for the potential creation of an all island regulatory elite zone on the island of ireland, and it might appear that the government is attempting to get around the water problem by giving to borders and maybe that is why the Prime Minister seems to want to have an idea of a bridge between scotland and Northern Ireland and a regulatory checkpoint halfway across. One whitehall veteran a former cabinet secretary questioned whether the government would meet its deadline to leave by the end of the month. The prospects of reaching an agreement on all the necessary details by october the 31st let alone october the 17th are so remote as to be impracticable. Lord butler. As we saw earlier during Prime Ministers questions, a labour mp has been targeted by anti abortion campaigners in her constituency. Stella creasy, who has played a key role in liberalising Northern Irelands abortion laws, told the speaker shed suffered abuse because of her views. From turning up in our town centre with a 20 foot banner of my head next to the image of a dead baby or about the age of the baby im currently carrying myself proclaiming i am working hard to achieve such an outcome and buying Clear Channel billboards advertising in my constituency showing graphic and incorrect pictures of foetuses and labelling me on national radio, and any campaign designed to target me as being a hypocrite for being pregnant. She said the campaigners had made their point and shed asked them not to continue. Despite this they have already stated they will keep returning and targeting me until i stopped campaigning. Already i have received numerous threats and abusive messages with directly quote their material. As you expect mr speaker i have sought Police Assistant against harassment, but none has been given including from the parliamentary authorities although khan and others have been fantastic i have eyes. I hope ministers will look on kindly to recognise this form of abuse. As i have said to believe it is not my time youre going to rip waste, but this type of campaigning into our politics, they say they are going to extend their protest to other mps and are clearly debating mac influencing debate in this place because some in this chamber had said that i wish to kill babies. Stella creasy looked directly at the democratic unionist benches when she said shed been accused of wishing to kill babies. There was no reaction from dup mps. John bercow said the question of the organisations funding was not a matterfor him. But he had strong words on what was happening to the mp. There is a major difference and it is important that we should be clear about this, between putting a point of view with considerable force and insistence on the matter of abortion or any other matter of public dispute, on the one hand and putting it in a extreme and provocative terms and in doing so we will go on doing so until you stop exercising your right as a member of parliament to campaign for what you want. Get into our intimidation and our threats and our bullying or it will be the worse for you. That, to me