Prime Minister's Questions: David Cameron v Ed Miliband

Welcome to our live coverage of Prime Minister's Questions. David Cameron and Ed Miliband will face each other for the first time in nearly a month after the traditional break for the party conferences. MPs from all sides will, no doubt, be looking forward to the resumption in hostilities.

As well as PM's questions, you can also watch live coverage of peers discussing the government's controversial NHS bill. The Lords are into day two of a marathon debate on the health and social care bill, with key votes expected this afternoon.

The economy looks sure to crop up this week after figures showed unemployment has reached a 17-year high. The number of people out of work rose by 114,000 to 2.57 million between June and August.

Liam Fox will not be in the Commons today - as he is on a ministerial visit to Paris. But the defence secretary could find his case brought up during proceedings amid continuing questions over his conduct and the nature of his working relationship with his friend Adam Werritty. Will Ed Miliband raise the issue and what kind of backing will Mr Fox get from the prime minister and Tory MPs?

On the problems facing the defence secretary, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond says Liam Fox should not face a "trial by media". But he tells the BBC's Daily Politics there are "legitimate questions" for Mr Fox to answer about Mr Werrity's business affairs and it was the job of the Cabinet Secretary to "get to the bottom" of them.

For Labour, shadow health secretary Andy Burnham tells the Daily Politics there are "so many unanswered questions" facing Mr Fox and his position is looking "very difficult".

In the House of Lords the NHS bill debate continues. Former health secretary Lord Fowler makes a simple point - the House of Lords shouldn't overturn the will of the House of Commons by throwing out the whole bill.

On a different issue entirely, Philip Hammond tells the Daily Politics that his Lib Dem Cabinet colleague Chris Huhne had apologised to him for suggesting the transport secretary had committed a speeding offence recently. Mr Hammond had points on his licence in the past for speeding but they expired some time ago.

Back to the economy. Philip Hammond says the whole of Europe is facing a "major problem" with youth unemployment and says the government is creating 250,000 new apprenticeships. But Andy Burnham says ministers are hiding behind the crisis in the eurozone and showing "breathtaking complacency".

David Cameron is on his feet in the Commons.

The prime minister starts by paying tribute to David Fairbrother and Jonathan McKinlay, UK soldiers killed in Afghanistan since the parliamentary recess.

The first question is from Lib Dem Sir Alan Beith on women being disadvantaged by the proposed rise in state pension ages. Mr Cameron says the government is looking at "transitional arrangements" to help them.

Labour leader Ed Miliband's first question is about the unemployment figures. He says the rising jobless data shows the government's economic plan is not working.

The unemployment figures are "very disappointing", Mr Cameron says. He lists all the things the government is doing to help but says "more must be done" to get people into work.

Ed Miliband knows that for many voters the struggle to find a job is a far more pressing problem than the behaviour of Liam Fox. But the tributes to those who have died in Afghanistan underlines how important it is for the defence secretary to be able to focus on his job.

The Labour leader says it the "same script" from the prime minister. He says youth unemployment is nearing a million and a "credible plan" is needed to boost growth and employment.

The prime minister says he will not take lectures from Labour given their record while in power. He says the government's deficit plan is backed the CBI and other business groups and suggests Labour's plans to boost spending would send the economy into a "tailspin".

Ed Miliband raises the issue of rising unemployment among women and says the prime minister should apologise to them. The prime minister says the Labour leader has got his figures wrong and cites his plans to provide childcare for people working less than 16 hours a week as evidence of their commitment.

Mr Miliband asks how many business have benefited from a scheme announced by Chancellor George Osborne last year. The PM gives a one-word answer - 7,000.

Despite the list of initiatives from the prime minister, there is concern within Downing Street that they are losing support amongst women, many of whom have been hit hard by changes to their pensions and cutbacks in the public sector.

The first mention of Liam Fox. Ed Miliband says the PM is doing more to "save the job" of the defence secretary than to protect ordinary workers. It is "one rule for the Cabinet, another rule" for everyone else, he suggests.

The prime minister ends his clash with Ed Miliband by comparing him to fictional character Walter Mitty. He says he has failed to convince senior figures within his own party about his economic policy.

Mr Cameron is taking questions on NHS reforms and early intervention to help problem families. On a question on Ukraine, he says the imprisonment of its former prime minister was "absolutely disgraceful".

Labour's Nia Griffith urges the PM to publish details of all ministers who have had meetings with Adam Werritty, the man at the centre of the row over Liam Fox, in either an official or social capacity. Mr Cameron says he is happy to look into this.

A question from Labour's Andrew Miller about the closure of the Forensic Science Service. He says it has resulted in key expertise being lost abroad. The PM says the service was not working and change was needed.

Support for Liam Fox from the prime minister. Asked by Labour MP Pat Glass whether anyone who breaks the ministerial code should keep their job, he says it is up to the cabinet secretary to establish the facts in the case. But he insists Mr Fox is doing "an excellent job" as defence secretary.

A question from Labour's Keith Vaz on the royal succession and rules barring a Catholic from ascending to the throne. He says it is a complex issue but he supports reform and that it will be discussed by Commonwealth leaders soon.

Another question relating to Mr Fox. The PM is asked whether he knows his chief spokeswoman is a former colleague of Adam Werritty. The PM does not comment directly on this, and says all issues should be examined by the cabinet secretary. He urges MPs to have a "little patience" while he does so.

The Labour leader clearly decided to leave it to others to raise the questions that everyone is discussing at Westminster. Liam Fox will be relieved that the prime minister is standing by him for now, but much will depend on the report from the Cabinet Secretary - and we are told there is no timetable for when that will be completed.

The PM is asked when he "last met" an unemployed young person. He says it is a long-term problem and that youth unemployment also rose during Labour's time in office, even when the economy was still growing.

Mr Cameron rules out a public inquiry into the murder of lawyer Pat Finucane in Northern Ireland 22 years ago. But he says it is up to the government to ensure the "full truth" is told about what happened. A statement is now taking place, which you can continue to watch on the House of Commons live video on this page.

This week's session ended with the PM welcoming the release of Israeli solider Gilad Shalit as part of a prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian authorities.

Now for the post-mortem. Transport Secretary Philip Hammond says the exchanges on the economy illustrated Labour's weaknesses and their calls for more borrowing would not improve the situation. But Andy Burnham tells the Daily Politics that what is missing is a growth plan and Labour has specific plans to get people into work.

Meanwhile in the House of Lords the end is in sight for the marathon debate on the NHS shake-up. Labour's Baroness Donaghy applauds Health Minister Earl Howe's presentation of the bill: "He has managed to make this Titanic look like Roman Abramovich's yacht."

Mr Hammond says he has not met Mr Werritty since he became a minister but knew him when he was an intern working for Mr Fox. On that issue, Sam Coates, from the Times, suggests Tory MPs did not cheer as loudly in support of the defence secretary today as they did on Monday. But he says there is nothing already in the public domain which should force Mr Fox from office.

The Daily Politics panel is reflecting on a question during PMQs about a Commons debate into the Hillsborough disaster later this year. There was controversy last night when Tory MP Christopher Chope used parliamentary procedure to try and block a debate. Mr Hammond says Mr Chope is a "maverick" and the PM had made clear that MPs would get an opportunity to debate the issue after 100,000 people signed a petition urging the move.

Remember the recent row between Ken Clarke and Theresa May over the role of a cat in a deportation case? Philip Hammond tells the Daily Politics that Mr Clarke was wrong to criticise Mrs May for highlighting the case - as the home secretary had deliberately chosen such an "absolutely absurd example" to make her point that rules on human rights were being misinterpreted.

Reflecting on the exchanges on unemployment during PM's questions the BBC's Norman Smith says the prime minister had "closed the door" on the possibility of any change to the government's economic strategy in the face of worsening conditions. The PM risked seeming obstinate if his plan did not work, he added.

Labour's deputy leader Harriet Harman says the PM's answers on unemployment had been "terrible" and simply "toughing it out" was not good enough. Mr Cameron was "making a virtue of sticking with a plan which is clearly not working", she tells Radio 4's World At One.

Back to the Lords where peers are having their say on the government's planned NHS shake-up. Fertility expert and Labour peer Lord Winston says the bill is "irresponsible" and would lead to dangerous fragmentation in the health service. But former Tory Cabinet minister Lord Fowler says that abandoning the plans now would leave the NHS in "suspended animation".

This from the BBC's Gary O'Donoghue: He says the cabinet secretary's report on the conduct of Liam Fox may not be completed next week as previously thought. According to No 10 there is no timetable for publication, he tells the World At One. It is in no-one's interest for the process to take too long, he adds.

Health minister Lord Howe makes it clear they're prepared to change this bill yet again if necessary. The hint is they'll make concessions in the ordinary committee so the extra committee process proposed by Lord Owen isn't necessary.

Gabby Bertin, the PM's chief spokeswoman, has confirmed she knows Adam Werritty and helped set up the Atlantic Bridge charity founded by Mr Fox and which Mr Werritty later ran. A Labour MP alluded to this connection during PMQs. She says she had disclosed this in the official register of interests.

Back in the Lords, health minister Earl Howe has been praised for his "stamina and clarity" as the marathon two-day debate on the NHS shake-up nears its end. He tells peers the proposed changes would "improve quality of care" and delaying them further would create damaging uncertainty.

But Labour peer Lord Rea - a former GP - says "whole swathes" of the medical profession are opposed to the bill and want it to go back to the "drawing board". Peers are now voting on whether to back his amendment to scrap the bill entirely.

Peers have nearly finished filing through the lobbies in the House of Lords. The results of the first of the crucial NHS votes are expected soon.

Labour are offering a cast iron promise the bill will be out of Committee by mid January - an indication they won't try to talk it out. Lord Howe accepted the offer, but still urges peers to oppose Lord Owen's amendment.

Peers reject calls for the NHS reforms to be abandoned entirely by 354 votes to 220.

Lord Owen (Dr David Owen) served in a 1970s Labour cabinet and later co-founded the SDP. He sits in the Lords as a crossbench, or independent, peer. He is currently moving an amendment for more detailed scrutiny of parts of the NHS bill. Ministers oppose the amendment but Lord Owen stresses the amendment is a bid to improve rather than halt the bill.

Lord Ashdown weighs in to oppose Lord Owen. Loses sympathy for the fact he wasn't at the debate yesterday. Peers are voting now.

Lord Owen insisted his plan was not a "delaying measure" and the scrutiny process would be completed by the middle of January - allowing the bill to become law by the end of the current session if approved by peers.

Peers have voted by 330 to 262 against the Lord Owen/Lord Hennessy amendment on the NHS bill.

The amendment was for the NHS bill to be referred to a special committee for more detailed scrutiny of parts of the plans. Ministers had warned that it would have delayed the bill and put its very future at risk.

Thanks for joining our live coverage of Prime Minister's Questions and the NHS bill for England in the House of Lords. You can continue to follow events in the Commons and Lords live on BBC Democracy Live.