Ashford MP Damian Green has revealed that a report on the impact of Brexit and the economy will be published this week.

The MP was standing in for Prime Minister Theresa May at Prime Minister’s Questions today in his capacity as First Secretary of State.

He was forced to fend off questions from Labour’s Emily Thornberry - standing in for Jeremy Corbyn - about the Conservative position on what would happen if there was no deal on Brexit.

She accused the government of being inconsistent over the issue but Mr Green retaliated, saying: "They have so far had nine different plans, they want to be both in-and-out of single market, in-and-out of the customs union."

The issue of Brexit dominated the exchanges between the two but it was the disclosure of the report on the fiscal impact of leaving the EU that proved noteworthy.

Mrs Thornberry said the Conservatives appeared to have a range of opinions on the Brexit deal which was confusing. "We've 20 months to go until Brexit, we've absolutely got to get a grip," she said.

The option of “no deal” was "not some sinister nightmare dreamt-up by Remainers, it was the PM who first floated the idea," she said.

Mr Green was also tackled over university tuition fees following his comment that there needed to be a debate on the issue.

He took the opportunity of a sideswipe at the Liberal Democrats and Labour on the issue.

He said there was a £100bn black hole" in Labour's policy to scrap them and to Tory laughter warned "misleading" students was a risky move. "Just ask the Liberal Democrats."

The traditional verbal jousting was a little more light-hearted than is usual and the verdict on social media was that both Mr Green and Mrs Thornberry had acquitted themselves well - even if there was not much of substance to emerge.