"The bill has wide cross-party support and is backed by members who have very different views on how the matter of Brexit should be concluded. What unites us is a conviction that there is no mandate for no deal and the consequences for the economy and the country would be highly damaging."

"The body of the history is only a long narrative, and as such it must go on with a soft and even motion, alike in every part, so that nothing should stand too forward, or retreat too far behind."

"It was one of the dullest speeches I ever heard. The Agee woman told us for three quarters of an hour how she came to write her beastly book, when a simple apology was all that was required."

"I am a minister of Christ first and of the Kirk second. If the Kirk forgets its Master's teaching, we part company."

"My plea to people in the room is: let’s use the kick up the backside the voters have given both the main parties, to really focus minds."