Prime Minister's questions: The Full Story

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The full PM's questions session: From Democracy Live

By Emma Griffiths
Political reporter, BBC News

1310 The school sports fallout looks set to dominate the immediate aftermath of PMQs but it's a session most likely to be remembered in years to come for Cameron's quip: "I would rather be a child of Thatcher than son of Brown." We'll wrap up our live coverage here. Join us again next week for more of the same. Here's the link to watch Nick Robinson and Daily Politics' guests' verdicts.

1300 A quick recap on what's been said about school sports funding, after David Cameron appeared to signal a change in policy at prime minister's questions. Mr Cameron's official spokesman said the PM had asked Education Secretary Michael Gove and Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt to look at the decision to cut the schools' sports funding programme because "there is some recognition this is being raised at local level". When asked about a timescale, the spokesman said: "They are looking at it now."

1256 Lord Prescott does not take kindly to suggestions he is off "to the sun" while Britain shivers, "What should I get, the slow boat to China? Don't be so damned daft," the former deputy PM tells the show's host Andrew Neil. "Should I not fly to Mexico?"

1254 Former deputy PM Lord Prescott has done an interview with the Daily Politics about climate change - he's off to Cancun he's the EU's environment "rapporteur". He says he believes the summit can make a difference. The show's host Andrew Neil's suggestion it is a "talking shop". Mr Prescott says there is a possibility he can put something forward that all countries can agree to.

1250Labour's Mary Creagh says Britain needs to look at "global supply chains" and what is consumed in the West - the government must put proper money into climate change mitigation in the UK. She says the government is cutting flood defence funding. Conservative Chris Grayling denies that green issues have fallen off his party's agenda. He says much is being done - but it can't all be about the government, much is down to individuals' choices.

1246 Attention turns to the climate change summit in Cancun, which was briefly raised by Green MP Caroline Lucas at prime minister's questions. The actor David Harewood is on Daily Politics arguing that money given to developing countries to live sustainably must be given in the form of grants - not loans. He says more attention is on the 2018 World Cup bid than the important issue of climate change.

1243 Labour's Mary Creagh tells Daily Politics when you cut public sector jobs and put people on the dole everyone has to pay and it will not help job creation in the private sector. BBC political editor Nick Robinson says Ed Miliband had focused on the notion of a squeeze and sluggish recovery but was avoiding predicting a double dip recession. Tory Chris Grayling says if the government can create an environment where businesses can grow - that's the way to create sustainable jobs in the future.

1241 BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson says for the former sports minister to ask the PM "rather gently" would he look again at the issue of school sports again was unusual - there's going to be a change, he says. Labour's Mary Creagh says the plan to cut the school sports programme was a "disaster for Michael Gove". Chris Grayling says the focus is on dealing with the deficit and devolving responsibility for school sports.

1237 On the Daily Politics BBC political editor Nick Robinson says Ed Miliband has been under a lot of criticism in recent days over a Today programme interview - and the fact he'd been off on paternity leave meant he had been less visible. He says the Labour leader is trying to prepare the ground for a "jobless recovery" in 2011 but was finding it hard to score points. He also predicts a U-turn on school sports from the prime minister. Chris Grayling, a government minister, says he's not aware of any U-turn coming on the issue.

1234 After a question on supermarkets from Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski the session ends, MPs file out.

1232 Lib Dem backbencher Bob Russell asks if war widows should pay income tax on their war widows' pension - Mr Cameron says it is a good point and should be looked into as part of work on the military covenant. Green MP Caroline Lucas asks about the climate summit at Cancun and government funding. Mr Cameron says the government is sticking to what has been set out on limits in the aid budget on climate change spending - but says the UK has to look at "innovative ways" of leveraging in more money from other parts of the world.

1229Labour MP Grahame Morris asks about Palestinian children in the West Bank and Gaza - Mr Cameron says all countries, including Israel, should observe the Geneva Convention. A long-term settlement of the Palestinian issue was what the government wanted, he said, a lack of progress only played into the "hands of extremists", he said.

1227 A question on thrombosis and blood clots from Labour MP Andrew Gwynne - Mr Cameron says the government is making more information available about it, which would ensure hospitals were "coming up to the mark". Lib Dem Stephen Williams asks about World Aids Day - he is also sporting a large red ribbon. Mr Cameron says the UK makes a big contribution to the battle against Aids globally but there are also "worrying signs" of infection rates at home and it was important to stress the need for safe sex to the general public.

1226The BBC's Iain Watson says: Overall it was a confident performance from the prime minister - he was all too ready to rebut the Wikileak about "Thatcher's children". Ed Miliband seems to have missed some rather obvious attack lines by getting serious over unemployment - the Labour leader perhaps should have chosen Mervyn King's apparent criticisms of the PM and Chancellor, a different Wikileak which would still have allowed him to talk about the economy. What Ed Miliband was attempting to do - over considerable noise - was to try to scotch the myth as he sees it of Labour being responsible for the massive deficit, rather than it being seen as a result of an international crisis. His advisers think he needs to nail this quickly but so far has failed to do so. David Cameron gave Ed Miliband a little political scratch - highlighting the Labour leader's statement that his policy review would start with a 'blank page' - but this could become a running sore as it is likely to be used time and again to suggest the opposition have no alternative to the policies they are criticising. The PM also sought to hit a Labour raw nerve by asking when Ed Miliband, who has been in the post for three months, was going to start doing his job as leader.

1225 Tory MP Chris Heaton-Harris has a dig at the Unite union leader over BA industrial action - Mr Cameron complains about "irresponsible strikes" and suggests Labour speak up more about it.

1224 Labour's Tony Lloyd asks about an area in his own Manchester constituency where housing regeneration is now not going ahead. Mr Cameron says the housing minister will meet him about it - the regional growth fund would be available for investment in those sorts of areas, he says.

1222 Ian Paisley - junior - asks about Ballymena in County Antrim's bid for city status - Mr Cameron says he doesn't want to get into endorsing every bid but he's sure it has a strong case. A Tory MP gives Mr Cameron the opportunity to extol his own economic plans again. Labour's former sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe asks about school sports partnerships - Mr Cameron pays tribute to him, he says he is "looking carefully at the debate that was held yesterday" - everyone accepted that not every penny had been spent well in the past, he said but ministers were "working hard on this" and would make an announcement soon.

1220 A Tory MP asks about academies - the PM says Labour should tell "their friends in the trade union movement" to stop opposing them. Labour MP Lisa Nandy asks about gangmasters, Mr Cameron says it has been a problem for many years about gangmasters not paying the minimum wage and it needs to be policed.

1218 Lib Dem MP Tom Brake urges the PM to look at what works in dealing with youth crime and drug rehabilitation - and suggests Labour engaged in "tub thumping" and "ambulance chasing". Labour MP Steve Rotheram makes a joke about sat nav in ministerial cars - which is a way of having a go at Nick Clegg over tuition fees. The PM congratulates him on a "wonderfully involved metaphor" - and uses the opportunity to have a dig at Ed Miliband about not joining a student demo.

1216 Tory MP Phillip Hollobone asks about Irish prisoners in the UK - in return for lending them £7bn, could the Irish government be persuaded to take them back so the UK isn't covering the costs? Mr Cameron says there are moves to get foreign national prisoners removed to their countries - although Ireland is a different case. The Justice Secretary Ken Clarke will be asked to look at it, he says. Labour's Louise Ellman goes through cuts to universities, supported by Labour MPs who shout "disgrace" - the PM again defends the university funding plans.

1215 Labour's Lindsay Roy suggests the PM has "lost touch with reality" - quoting the cost of a "happiness survey" - Mr Cameron suggests the MP "cheer up a bit".

1213 Mr Cameron asks Mr Miliband when he is "going to start" as leader of the opposition? Mr Miliband hits back with the leaked William Hague comment about him being a "child of Thatcher". Mr Cameron replies to Ed Miliband: "I'd rather be a child of Thatcher than a son of Brown" - Tory MPs like that one. The exchange ends and Tory MP Tobias Ellwood asks about compensation for the victims of terrorist attacks abroad. His brother was killed in the Bali bombing. Mr Cameron says the government is "looking at this difficult issue" and trying to find a "fair and reasonable system" and will come forward with proposals.

1210 Mr Cameron suggests without the coalition Britain would be in the grip of some sort of financial meltdown - Ed Miliband accuses him of "rewriting history" - to roars from the government benches. The Speaker calls them to order. Mr Miliband says it was a global economic recession and says Mr Cameron is cutting too fast and risks four years of sluggish recovery. Mr Cameron retorts: "This is one of the fastest recoveries in Europe". He returns to his line of attack that Labour's economic policy is a "blank sheet of paper".

1208 Mr Miliband, who is wearing a red ribbon to mark World Aids Day - as it appears several members of the Labour front bench are, again presses on the economy. Mr Cameron also appears to be wearing a red ribbon badge. Mr Miliband accuses Mr Cameron of giving a "complacent answer" to his questions about raising VAT and others. Mr Cameron says former chancellor Alistair Darling said raising VAT would have "allowed you to pay off a sizeable chunk of the deficit" and supported it - Mr Darling looks on from the back benches.

1206 Ed Miliband says the Office for Budget Responsibility prediction is growth will slow next year - and therefore unemployment will rise. Mr Cameron suggests the Labour leader is "determined to talk the economy down" - to roars from MPs. Generally speaking what was reported was "good news for the UK economy", he says, quoting a series of countries that UK growth is predicted to be higher than.

1204 Ed Miliband begins by wishing the PM well in the 2018 bid but the niceties stop there - he has a dig at Nick Clegg, who's away and is missing the tuition fees furore. The exchange moves onto employment forecasts.

1202 The session begins with a mention of England's 2018 World Cup bid. Labour's Margaret Curran also asks about tuition fees and the Lib Dems' position. Mr Cameron uses it as an opportunity to detail what he sees as the strengths of the policy. A Tory MP asks him to "update" MPs about the 2018 bid. Mr Cameron is positive and says everyone should get behind the bid.

1157 The Commons is filling up ahead of prime minister's questions - Scotland minister David Mundell is still taking MPs' questions from the front bench. Speaker John Bercow admonishes MPs for their "discourteous" noise levels - a common complaint for the Speaker. David Cameron has just taken his seat.

1154 Labour frontbencher Mary Creagh says there's a big question over the size of the area that commissioners will cover - how they will get across to a wide range of people in each area may prove difficult, she says.

1151In case you were in any doubt, it won't be like Gotham City's Commissioner Gordon shining a light into the sky to call for Batman, Keith Vaz says. He says the newly elected commissioners would be judged by their record on tackling crime.

1149 Chris Grayling says the Conservatives are seeking less of the "heavy hand of Whitehall" and more local accountability in policing - police authorities are generally "invisible" to the public, he says. Commissioners will be more visible. For Labour, Mary Creagh says people are more concerned about neighbourhood policing then this plan, which she says will cost £136m, at a time when police officers might be losing their jobs.

1147 In the Daily Politics studio Keith Vaz, Labour MP and chairman of the home affairs select committee, says the elected commissioners are a "huge change" and there will be a lot of responsibility on the individual commissioners. There needs to be a charter clearly setting out their responsibilities, he says.

1145 Not all Conservatives are happy about plans to introduce elected police commissioners to oversee police forces in England and Wales. Rob Garnham, chair of the Association of Police Authorities - also a Conservative councillor, tells the programme he's concerned about the costs - which he quotes as £100m - and the "politicisation of policing". There is also concern about making sure they represent the whole community. Although he is a Conservative, he thinks directly elected commissioners is the wrong way to go.

1141 Pressed about Vince Cable's comments that he might abstain from voting on his own policy, Lib Dem MP Don Foster says there are "no rules for coalitions" as there hasn't been one for so long. Labour's Mary Creagh notes the Lib Dems are in a "very very difficult position". The two then clash over cuts - Chris Grayling raises the "financial mess" the coalition inherited, which means parties are having to take decisions they would rather not do so. He "admires" the Lib Dems.

1138It's not easy being a Lib Dem at the moment. Lib Dem MP Don Foster is in the studio to talk about tuition fees. He says the party is "between a rock and a hard place" on the issue - his party had said they'd oppose any increase, now they are part of a government seeking to raise the cap on fees. Will Nick Clegg vote for the measure or abstain? Mr Foster says the Lib Dems are "trying to find a way of being able to be united about this" and that has not yet been agreed. He admits there "isn't" any clarity on the issue about it at the moment.

1135 And in the Daily Politics, the studio guests begin with the Wikileaks revelations. Mary Creagh, for Labour, says it is interesting that Bank of England Governor Mervyn King's comments concentrated on the politics. Chris Grayling says he doesn't want to get into commenting on leaked documents. Both use the opportunity to discuss the economic situation and the government's policies - from rather different perspectives. Ms Creagh suggests some of the leaks are "embarrassing" for the Conservatives.

1132 Conservative welfare minister Chris Grayling and Labour's Mary Creagh - the shadow environment secretary - are in the Daily Politics studio, ahead of the main event. What might we expect to be raised in the Commons chamber this week? Wikileaks has been dominating the news agenda and today's coverage include some comments apparently made by Bank of England Governor Mervyn King about David Cameron and George Osborne before the election, which he probably wishes had not surfaced. Tuition fees continue to cause ructions - Vince Cable admitted yesterday he may abstain in a vote on his own policy. And surely some MP will not pass up the opportunity to wish the England 2018 World Cup bid team luck ahead of Thursday's vote in Zurich.

1130 Hello and welcome to our live coverage of this week's Prime Minister's questions. David Cameron will face questions from noon, and as usual the main focus will be on his exchanges with Labour leader Ed Miliband, which we expect to come early in the half hour session. We'll also bring you the best of the reaction and analysis from BBC2's Daily Politics and the BBC News Channel.