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The temperature hots up in the foreign affairs debate studio as Philip Hammond and Douglas Alexander clash over whether Mr Hammond has really got support for an in-out referendum in 2017 by his German counterpart. Thankfully Tim Farron is on hand to intervene. "A lot of this is very esoteric," he says. Mr Farron, who had rather a quiet start to this debate, gets a lot of screen time extolling the benefits of his party's policy.

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Next the foreign affairs debate moves on to Europe. William Dartmouth says if it wasn't for UKIP then David Cameron would never have offered a referendum - not that he'll keep his promise, Mr Dartmouth says. Philip Hammond rejects UKIP's claim that it will be a "phony question" because the Electoral Commission will come up with the right wording. "We don't trust the Electoral Commission at all!" Mr Dartmouth interrupts. Mr Hammond seems very trusting of the likelihood that a decent package of reform can be achieved, even though German politicians and diplomats have voiced their opposition to major concessions. "It depends which Germans you talk to," Mr Hammond says.

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Douglas Alexander says Labour won't "succumb" to the Conservatives' view that it's time for an in-out referendum by 2017. But why not have a referendum now and settle the issue? Mr Alexander says the Scottish referendum hasn't exactly resolved the issue. "The idea that UKIP is going to pack up its tent and go home after a referendum in 2017 is a little naive," he says. Tim Farron, who's also opposed to an EU referendum, says his party has been entirely consistent on a vote only in the event of treaty change. "Why are you guys terrified of the electorate?" Philip Hammond interjects. "With every reason," UKIP's William Dartmouth says. "Look at the European elections!"

Image source, AFP

David Cameron says Britain will "make a contribution" to efforts to step up search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean. The EU withdrew support from Italy's rescue operation, called Mare Nostrum. It was replaced with the smaller Operation Triton.

Speaking to the BBC's John Pienaar, Mr Cameron said it was "right" to extend the rescue scheme, saying: "We've got one of the strongest and best-organised aid budgets anywhere in Europe and we can help stabilise some of these countries."

Mr Cameron will be attending an emergency meeting of European leaders on Thursday.

Asked if he accepted that stopping Mare Nostrum was a source of "shame", Mr Cameron replied: "I don't think that's a fair point because everyone wants to stop the loss of life.

"The decision that was taken in Europe to change the approach was because at that time it seemed that more lives were being lost because of what the Italian navy was doing.

UKIP's William Dartmouth says there have been "so many ill-thought out interventions... that the concept of intervention in this country has been discredited", he says. He suggests the coalition has "already settled on second-class status" by "cutting, cutting, cutting defence". Tim Farron says "we can be very powerful in the world... just in a different way". The Greens' Patrick Harvie says a second-class Britain poses an "opportunity" rather than a "threat".

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Image source, Reuters

The debate on foreign affairs moves on to Syria - the picture above is a bomb-damaged suburb of Damascus - and Labour's shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander is pressed on his party's role in defeating the government over military intervention in August 2013. "There was not the basic lessons learned from Iraq," Mr Alexander says. Philip Hammond, interrupting him, says that vote did "extreme damage". Mr Alexander, pressing on, distinguishes between the 2013 vote and the situation against the Islamic State now. "It's not pure pragmatism, there's a question as to what can actually be achieved," he says. Mr Hammond then attacks Labour for damaging Britain, but Mr Alexander won't play that game - he says the falling-out was the government's fault. Lib Dem Tim Farron intervenes - and says the Iraq War legacy shows that the British public is reluctant to take action "even when intervention is justified".

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Philip Hammond agrees this is a "complex problem" after the Greens' Patrick Harvie again underlines the importance of taking a humanitarian approach to the problem. "Nobody wants to see people drowning in the Mediterranean," Mr Hammond says. Douglas Alexander then seizes on Mr Hammond's comment that Italy should take refugees. The foreign secretary ends up saying he supports a "strengthened" operation on the seas - but not a return to the Italian-run Mare Nostrum operation.

The Greens' Patrick Harvie says he is "absolutely" supportive of letting one million more migrants into Europe "as opposed to seeing them die". Labour's Douglas Alexander says everyone on the panel has acknowledged it's a "highly complex" issue - but says that doesn't mean Europe should adopt an "open-door" policy. He's then pressed on whether Britain should take more asylum-seekers - and Mr Alexander says under the terms of the Dublin Treaty it would have to be Italy that would have to receive them all.

We're tickled by these images of George Osborne getting stuck in at a brewery in Lewes, East Sussex, so we thought you might enjoy them all.

Image source, PA

Image source, PA

Image source, PA

William Dartmouth says UKIP opposed the intervention in Libya at the time in 2011. "It was a terrible mistake," he says. Philip Hammond challenges him on whether there would be a civil war in Libya today if there hadn't been an invasion. Mr Darmouth says: "It's high time you were held to account." The Greens' Patrick Harvie is next, recalling "hugs in the desert" with Gadaffi. "There is a lack of consistency," he says.

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Asked about whether the migrants from Libya are really coming over solely because of people-trafficking, Philip Hammond says action is needed against the "criminal gangs" behind the problem. Tim Farron agrees with Douglas Alexander in that he backed the Libya intervention, but not what followed. He highlights the Lib Dems' proposal for a "single security budget" and talks of the need to be "compassionate". What's needed is a "safe and legal point of crossing," he says.

Image source, PA

They even found him some Tory blue ice cream.

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That's the opening statements over, and now we turn to the first big question - on the situation in the Mediterranean, and what the EU is going to do to deal with the problem of migrants. Philip Hammond says he's optimistic that the situation in Libya could result in a "break in the civil war". Douglas Alexander says it wasn't a mistake to go to war against Muammar Gaddafi, but there was a "basic failure of post-conflict planning".

The final opening statement is from Labour's shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander. He says the election is a choice between his party and the Conservatives, many of whom want to leave the European Union. "Labour believes the right course is reform from within Europe and not exit from Europe," Mr Alexander says. Will he go and work for David Miliband if he loses his seat in Scotland, Andrew Neil asks? "Victory is within our grasp," he replies with a smile.

Next up is the Greens' Patrick Harvie, who says promises of an ethical foreign policy now sounds like a "sick joke" after the invasions of Iraq and elsewhere. He says "too often" Britain is making things "worse". Asked whether he thinks Ed Miliband should work with the SNP, he says: "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

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Lib Dem Tim Farron highlights the coalition's commitment to backing 0.7% of spending on aid and prioritises preventing conflict using trade, aid and diplomacy. He underlines his party's commitment to the European Union, too.

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Next is the opening statement from UKIP's William Dartmouth, who warns that being in the EU "diminishes Britain's role in foreign affairs". He defends Nigel Farage's comments that Vladimir Putin is good at standing up for Russia's interests, simply saying Britain could do better.

Image source, Goose / Ste Curran

Getting a campaign poster right can be a tricky thing. The tone, the style, the imagery... the spelling...

It seems up and down the country voters are being bombarded with a bewildering array of misspelt, error ridden and entirely incorrect campaign posters, leaflets and literature in the somewhat dubious hope of winning their vote.

The Lib Dems have offered the electorate the below examples of their attention to detail. The latter, where they tried to make Labour look bad for breaking the "ecconomy" fails the spell check...

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Philip Hammond can't help but smile as he's told he's often confused with Jeremy Hunt. That's a plus, he says, because the health secretary is "15 years younger than me".