Dominic Raab said he has “a lot of sympathy” for a Labour MP who was told it was against Commons rules to bring her baby into the chamber.

Stella Creasy was accompanied by her 3 month old son during a debate on Tuesday evening.

She wrote: “Apparently Parliament has written a rule which means I can’t take my well behaved, 3-month old, sleeping baby when I speak in chamber. (Still no rule on wearing masks btw). Mothers in the mother of all parliament are not to be seen or heard it seems…. #21stCenturyCalling“.

The deputy prime minister and justice secretary told BBC One’s Breakfast programme earlier today: “I’ve seen her with her young child, I’ve seen many other MPs on all sides of the House balancing this, and it’s difficult. I think we do need to make sure our profession is brought into the modern world, the 21st century, and can allow parents to juggle the jobs they do with the family time that they need.”

He went on: “Whether it’s the right thing in the chamber, there will be different views on that, it will be for the House authorities to decide but it certainly wouldn’t distract me or get in the way of me doing my job.”