15:06

So what does the ongoing crisis about Theresa May’s Brexit deal mean for the prospects of a second independence referendum in Scotland? Nicola Sturgeon had been due to update her party on her plans for a second referendum this autumn – but autumn is turning into winter and the most recent form of words, used at SNP conference last month, was that she must wait until after “the fog of Brexit” had cleared.

At FMQs this lunchtime, Sturgeon insisted that Brexit makes the case for independence grow stronger every day, and she certainly appeared to suggest she’d offer an update to Holyrood after the meaningful vote in the Commons

At the post-FMQs briefing, her spokesperson reiterated that the first minister would only be able to offer an update when there was more clarity around the Brexit deal, the indications being that this would happen within weeks rather than months, “at some point when the smoke clears”. Whether this was foggy smoke, or smokey fog ... well, that wasn’t clear at all.

Beyond Holyrood, and despite concerns raised for the future of the union by Dominic Raab, Esther McVey, David Mundell et al, SNP strategists must surely be assessing whether the unfairness of the Northern Ireland deal can be used to bring more voters across to independence. Remember that polling consistently shows that appetite amongst the Scottish public for another referendum remains low.