The @BBCNewsnight ship will sail on tonight: another powerful investigation by our NHS Unit led so ably by the outstanding @Sean__Clare with the incredible workhorse that is @CharlotteRowle1. Story told tonight by the formidable @joepike following on from work of @davidgrossman Tonight’s @BBCNewsnight outputted by the telly genius that is @jasmin_dyer

Real anger in @PennyMordaunt camp after her supporter @Tobias_Ellwood stripped of Tory whip for missing last night’s confidence vote in the government after he failed to return in time from trip to Moldova The Mordaunt camp are dismissing the whips’ argument about why other Conservative MPs who missed the vote have kept the whip: that they were paired with opposition MPs. One Mordaunt backer tells me: why didn’t they do that for Tobias? He was visiting Moldova

A row has broken out in government over a special parliamentary bill to allow ministers to take maternity leave. Ministers are raising concerns because the bill says maternity leave is taken by persons. NHS guidance on maternity leave refers to women. Key part of bill below I understand that some ministers and backbenchers have made clear to the government that they cannot support the proposed legislation in its present form. It is believed to be the first piece of legislation in which the word person or persons is used in this context

Big buzz in the last hour among Tory MPs that the UK is heading towards a Brexit deal with the EU. Eurosceptics being reassured they will be happy. Nothing confirmed yet and MPs saying: many a slip between cup and lip. But MPs being told the signal will come if and when Jacob Rees-Mogg announces that the commons will sit on Monday and Tuesday next week. That would come before any UK / EU announcement

Break: Danny Kruger, former political secretary to Boris Johnson and now Conservative MP for Devizes, tells colleagues to stop demanding resignation of Dominic Cummings on the grounds that such calls are tantamount to a vote of no confidence in PM @danny__kruger In note to newly elected MPs Danny Kruger says: No 10 won't budge, so calling for DC to go is basically declaring no confidence in PM

Break: I am told that a very tense meeting of the executive of the Conservative backbench committee 1922 has just concluded. Every Tory MP at the meeting and every MP who dialled in expressed deep concern at the impact of the lockdown on business Am told the sentiment at the 1922 was: unless the lockdown starts to be lifted soon the UK may not have much of a functioning economy to come back to. Fears expressed that thousands upon thousands of businesses could soon go under

As Jo Swinson prepares to launch manifesto senior Tories fear Dominic Raab could be under pressure from Liberal Democrats in Esther and Walton. “The chat among Surrey Tories is that Dominic Raab could be in trouble,” a senior Tory tells me @joswinson @DominicRaab A Lib Dem victory in Esher and Walton would mark an astonishing turnaround. Raab won 58.6% of the vote in 2017 and had a majority of 23,298....over Labour. The Lib Dems came third with 17.3%

Senior Labour figure tells me: don’t assume this election is definitely on. Big push by some Labour whips for party to vote against programme motion, hoping that Boris Johnson would pull the bill at that point So it could be shades of last week and PM’s #brexit legislation if scenario sketched out by senior Labour figure comes to pass. Bill would secure its second reading and then come to a standstill if programme motion is voted down

An ally of Nick Boles tells he was so angry with Conservatives because Theresa May ordered a particularly aggressive whipping operation against his Common Market 2.0 proposal PM’s objection to Nick Boles idea: familiar criticism that it would oblige UK to accept free movement. PM thinks the emergency brake allowed under his EEA proposal is meaningless bc it has never be invoked by current members and would involve EU retaliation if invoked. But...

When a PM resigns they are expected to protect the monarch from the political fray by advising which candidate is best placed to command the confidence of parliament. In normal times commanding the confidence of the cabinet shd do the trick. But... ...these are not normal times. A candidate commanding the support of this cabinet may not be enough if a significant proportion of the governing party (ERG?) suggest they have no confidence in the cabinet’s candidate. So ERG and PM could both have cards to play...

I reported last night on Newsnight: strong rumours that Sarah Woolaston, Anna Soubry and Heidi Allen would defect to the Independent Group this morning. Looking like it may happen shortly before PMQs

@Anna_Soubry @sarahwollaston @heidiallen75 @BBCNewsnight @TheIndGroup A source in The Independent Group told me last night of possible defection of the three Tories: I can neither confirm nor deny. But tomorrow [Wednesday] will be a busy day