Related video: Boris Johnson says he will launch a huge no-deal ‘public information campaign’ to help minimise any possible disruption

Jeremy Corbyn called on cabinet secretary Sir Mark Sedwill to rule that the prime minister cannot go ahead with a no-deal Brexit if there is a general election, saying it would be an “anti-democratic abuse of power”.

Andy McDonald, shadow cabinet secretary, called on Sir Mark to be the “voice of sanity” if Boris Johnson tries to push ahead with no deal despite losing a confidence vote in the Commons.

It came as transport minister George Freeman suggested a no-deal exit would be an “absolute disaster” which would keep the Tories “out of office for two decades”. The Conservatives were accused of “breaking the economy” after GDP figures showed the UK economy shrank.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan warned Boris Johnson the Metropolitan Police is "under-resourced and over-stretched" and needs more police officers urgently to deal with knife crime.

His plea to the prime minister came just days after a 28-year-old policeman was seriously injured when he was attacked by a man with a machete in Leyton, east London.

And foreign secretary Dominic Raab called for an independent investigation into recent events in Hong Kong during a phone call with the city's chief executive.