Summary

  • Five Westminster opposition party leaders took part in a debate, with Labour's Ed Miliband and the SNP's Nicola Sturgeon in heated exchanges

  • UKIP's Nigel Farage accused the audience - which was independently selected and broadly representative - of being "left-wing"

  • Leanne Wood, of Plaid Cymru, and the Green Party's Natalie Bennett took on Mr Farage over his attitude to migrants

  • In other news - Richard Desmond, whose publishing company owns the Daily and Sunday Express, gave £1m to UKIP

  • Nick Clegg said a vote for the Lib Dems could prevent a right-wing coalition of the Conservatives, UKIP and the DUP - or "Blukip"

  • There are 21 days left until polling day

Live Reporting

Tim Fenton, Andy McFarlane, Bernadette McCague and Tom Moseley

  1. Matthew Holehouse, Political Correspondent, Daily Telegraph

    @mattholehouse

    tweets:

    Richard Desmond on Ukip: "They are not perfect and they do not pretend to be. But what they believe in is the best for the British people."

  2. Nigel Farage, UKIP leader

    writes on Facebook :

    Richard Desmond is a self-made man, who has done a brave thing in coming out for UKIP today. I hope that many others will now follow suit.

  3. Guido Fawkes

    @GuidoFawkes

    tweets:

    Confirmed: Farage gets a million quid off Richard Desmond. You read the 'Express exclusive' here three hours ago: http://order-order.com/2015/04/16/rumour-dirty-desmond-about-to-donate-ukip-a-million/#_@/f8aTFubuL9rb6w …

  4. More on Desmond's UKIP donation

    Mr Desmond is quoted on the Express website saying: "I firmly believe in UKIP. It's a party for good, ordinary British people. It is not run by elitists.

    "They are struggling to have a voice. They do not have a massive party machine or highly paid public relations people.

    Richard Desmond

    They are the sort of people who will stand up for people who are struggling."

  5. Harry Cole, Contributing Editor of The Spectator

    @MrHarryCole

    tweets:

    Hear Farage has been and gone from Express building after meeting with Desmond. Disappointed hacks taking ties off after no newsroom tour.

  6. Publisher Desmond donates £1.3m to UKIP
    Breaking

    Richard Desmond, whose publishing company owns the Daily and Sunday Express, has donated £1.3m to UKIP, a report on the Express website says.

  7. 'Sweet' Farage

    UKIP leader Nigel Farage tells the BBC he'll be as "sweet and reasonable as always" during tonight's debate.

    Asked about Nick Clegg's warning of a "Blukip" right-wing alliance, Mr Farage responds that the deputy PM can "say what he likes".

    Nigel Farage, right, chatting at a campaign eventGetty Images

    The Lib Dems present themselves as being this moderate party. Actually, they're the most pro EU and pro giving away our sovereignty, of any party in Britain. I don't call that moderate. "

  9. George Eaton, Political Editor, New Statesman

    @georgeeaton

    tweets:

    I'll be discussing tonight's debate on BBC News at 5:45pm with @JGForsyth #BBCDebate

  10. Michael Crick, Political corr, C4 News

    @MichaelLCrick

    tweets:

    Only 13% of Ukip candidates are women, compared with 26% of Tories; 27% of Lib Dem cands; 34% of Labour; & 37% of Greens. Figs from PSA

  11. Main points so far today

    As Matt and Aiden sign off for the day, this is Andy and Tim summing up the day's key action so far.

    • Five opposition leaders are preparing ahead of tonight's BBC Election Debate . The programme starts at 8pm
    • Labour's Ed Miliband criticised David Cameron's absence, saying: "If you are applying for the job of prime minister, the very least people expect is for you to turn up to the job interview"
    • Conservative leader Mr Cameron responded: "Tonight's debate is part of the deal that was done to unblock the log-jam about TV debates. I'm delighted that I played a role unblocking that log-jam"
    • Nick Clegg, of the Liberal Democrats, said he finds it "very odd" that he is not involved
    • The Conservatives launched their Scottish manifesto warning of a "coalition of chaos" involving Labour and the SNP
    • The Lib Dems warned the government could "lurch to the right" under a coalition between the Conservatives, UKIP and the DUP
    • New figures revealed almost £2.5m of donations to political parties were registered in the first week of the official election campaign

  12. 'Most fascinating election'

    Tonight's debate host David Dimbleby has been speaking to BBC Radio 4's PM programme about "the most fascinating election that I'll have done".

    He reckons the TV debates allow voters, "jaundiced" by policies and promises, to get a closer look at party leaders.

    David Dimbleby on the set of the BBC debate

    What does come through is the character of the politicians involved."

  13. Ken Clarke trending?

    Ken Clarke speaking at a Conservatives event - 5 March 2011PA

    Yes, it's true - Ken Clarke is trending on Twitter this afternoon. Unfortunately for his Conservative colleagues, it's because of a slightly mischievous interview he's given to Anoosh Chakelian of the New Statesman.

    The full version hasn't been published yet, but in a preview of it the Tory veteran says his party hasn't won a majority for 23 years because it's "too right-wing" and warns that negative campaigning "costs you votes".

  14. Dummy runs

    No sign of the politicians yet but the BBC crew are hard at work in rehearsals for tonight's BBC election debate.

    A cameraman rehearses on the set of the BBC debate

  15. Ben Riley-Smith, Political Correspondent, Daily Telegraph

    @benrileysmith

    tweets:

    Thirty voters walked out of Cameron's Leeds Q&A in total, hacks estimate. Approx 200 attended. Not great for 40min session.

  16. Opposition parties want to 'abandon the plan'

    Mr Cameron has told Scottish Conservatives that all the parties at tonight's opposition leaders' debate will be urging the electorate to "abandon the plan that has turned this country around".

    During a Q&A at the party's manifesto launch in Glasgow, why he was "dodging" taking part in the debate , the Prime Minister said: "Tonight's debate is part of the deal that was done to unblock the log-jam about TV debates.

    "I'm delighted that I played a role unblocking that log-jam."

  17. Callum Jones, @timesredbox

    @CallumIJones

    tweets:

    BBC interview with PM watched by just 1.8m – how many will tune in for tonight's Opposition Debate? Clashes with Emmerdale & Hotel Inspector

  18. Tim Reid, political correspondent

    @TimReidBBC

    tweets:

    The spin room for the #bbcdebate #ge2015 - will be much busier in a few hours."

    An empty spin room

  19. Spitting lyrics?

    In a baffling yet seemingly inevitable development, a photograph of Ed Miliband from last September has been getting lots of attention online today.

    Several Twitter users have pointed out that Mr Miliband looks like he is rapping - setting off a series of guesses at what the lyrics might have been.

    Buzzfeed has collected some of the best guesses, including this one from @Ray_McRobbie:

    Labour leader Ed Miliband speaks at an event ahead of Scotland's independence referendum in Blantyre - 4 September 2014Getty Images

    "Yo, back up now and give a brother room, The fuse is lit and I'm about to go BOOM!" #AngryEd #ge2015

  20. Is UKIP proposing £4.27bn cut for Scotland?

    The Nolan Show, BBC Radio Ulster

    UKIP member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, David McNarry, speaks to BBC Radio Ulster's Stephen Nolan about his party's manifesto commitment to reduce spending by £5.5 billion by replacing the Barnett formula.

    The Barnett formula is used to calculate the level of UK government grant to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

    Asked how that £5.5 billion reduction would be made, Mr McNarry claims that "the figures tell me we won't be worse off" in Northern Ireland - but Scotland would bear the brunt of the cut.

    He says that Scotland would face a reduction of £4.27bn over the term of the next Parliament if UKIP formed a government.