David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg each faced the audience in a Question Time special
Mr Miliband rules out a Labour coalition or a deal with SNP, while Nicola Sturgeon says SNP MPs will have 'big clout'
The prime minister says he has no plans to cut child benefit or tax credits, despite Lib Dem claims
Mr Clegg says he's not sorry for his "brave and plucky" decision to enter coalition
Plaid Cymru's Leanne Wood hints at a deal with Labour, while UKIP's Nigel Farage says an EU referendum defeat wouldn't 'kill' his party
There are seven days left until the general election
BBC Radio 4 Today
Danny Alexander says:
Quote MessageThe easiest way to clear this up would be for David Cameron, perhaps tonight when he appears on Question Time, to explain in detail what are £12bn savings he has in mind.
BBC's political editor Nick Robinson tweets
BBC Radio 4 Today
Mr Alexander tells Today: "As the person who has been sitting in the Treasury responsible for public spending for the last five years I have to say I don't see how you can make that sort of savings in the welfare system in any way that is balanced and fair."
He adds he thinks people should look at the record of that party in terms of the ideas they have been willing to consider before.
He says for the Conservatives to achieve the savings on the scale they are talking about the government would need to look at child benefit...or working age benefits
Mr Alexander says: "In the absence of the Conservative party coming clean I think it is right that this sort of thing is put in the public domain."
BBC's assistant political editor Norman Smith tweets
BBC Radio 4 Today
Lib Dem Danny Alexander says no-one knows what the Conservatives have in mind for the £12bn of welfare savings. "They've said nothing about how they've constructed that figure... nothing about the millions of working families in this country who would be hit hard by big reductions in child benefit... by child tax credits."
He says they are either being "reckless or deceitful" - reckless because they don't know what they want to do - or deceitful because they are not telling us.
BBC Radio 4
The Lib Dem's Danny Alexander is being questioned by John Humphrys now.
The questioning focuses on the proposals by a future Conservative government to cut the welfare budget.
He says the plans should be put in the public domain, and for David Cameron to explain what the £12bn welfare cuts would be.
LSE's politics blog tweets
BBC Radio 4 Today
Green party leader Natalie Bennett tells the Today programme her party is "setting out a model for a different kind of society and for our one planet because it is the only planet we have".
She says the Greens are looking to send as many MPs back to parliament as possible, and points to Bristol West as a potential constituency where her party could win.
Ms Bennett says the Greens would support a minority Labour government on a vote-by-vote basis and would do everything to stop a Tory government.
Answering the accusation that the Greens haven’t really talked about the environment in this election Ms Bennett says she was the only party leader in the recent leaders' debate to highlight the environment at all.
Asked about the Green party’s policies on car emissions, she stalls. Ms Bennett talks about re-nationalising the railways and re-regulating the buses. You cannot say to people get out of your cars if you’re not offering them an alternative, she says.
What's happening at tonight's Question Time?
Each leader will appear separately. David Dimbleby will introduce each in turn, and they will walk onto the set and take half an hour of questions.
He'll then thank them and they will walk off before he introduces the next leader.
David Cameron will appear first, followed by Ed Miliband and finally Nick Clegg.
Every leader will face questions for 30 minutes
And just like every episode of Question Time, no leader has advance notice of the questions. The audience will submit questions in advance and on the night - and the questions will be chosen from the most popular issues raised.
Questions will be selected in the normal way - by the editor, David Dimbleby and the editorial team.
The questions will be on election related issues, and relevant to each party and leader.
BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins tweets
Image source, ReutersTaxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has made a loss of £446m in the first three months of its new financial year, compared with a profit of £1.2bn in the same period a year earlier.
The bank has had to include restructuring costs of £453m and £856m of litigation and conduct charges.
A net charge of £122m "was recorded in relation to the reclassification of the International Private Banking business to disposal groups" - ie, for the sale of Coutts International, together with a net loss within discontinued operations of £320m reflecting the fall in the market price of Citizens bank shares during the quarter, which RBS has been selling down.
It's probably safe to say it may still be some time before the government (of whichever party) is in a position to sell its stake in the bank.
BBC Breakfast
BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins shows us round the set of the special Question Time in Leeds tonight.
The three leaders - David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg - will be sitting, one by one, at the table, while David Dimbleby adjudicates from a lectern, and the audience asks the questions.
The audience will be made up of 25% of Conservative supporters; 25% Labour supporters; 25% Lib Dem voters - and the final 25% undecided.
Tonight, David Dimbleby presents a Leaders’ Special Question Time with David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg.
It will be hosted form Leeds Town Hall and will be broadcast live on BBC One, BBC Radio 5 Live, and online from 2000 BST to 2130 BST.
Separately, UKIP leader Nigel Farage, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon and Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood have their own question time programmes.
Mr Farage will be answering questions in Birmingham and the programme will be broadcast on BBC One in England at 2245 BST.
Ms Sturgeon will be taking part in a live session at 2130 GMT from Glasgow, which will be broadcast on BBC One in Scotland.
And Ms Wood, will be in Cardiff - and her question time session will be broadcast on BBC One in Wales at 2245 BST.
Jane Merrick, political editor of @indyonsunday, tweets
The front page of the Sun in Scotland reflects the confusion already caused by the SNP North of the border. It used to be said that nationalism is the last resort of a scoundrel and this is more true today than ever.
The SNP has made much of Scotland having a voice at Westminster. But, what sort of voice does Scotland want? Surely, not the deceptive voice of the SNP that does no justice to the Scotland of today nor its history.
Much of the policy we have seen recently from the Scottish government concerning, for example, defence, borders, fiscal autonomy, currency, debt, mortgage and interest rates, the NHS, energy, child care, opportunities etc should not have been allowed to get beyond the night bar at the Queen's Head let alone anywhere near the Scottish parliament.
The majority in Scotland who do not want the neverendum can save everyone much time and trouble by voting tactically at the general election for the party most likely to defeat the SNP.
Mike Allison, Politics live reader
Patrick Wintour, the Guardian's political editor, tweets
The Times
The Times leads on the story that Nick Clegg will face huge resistance from within his own party, external if he tries to push through a second coalition deal with the Conservatives.
The Lib Dem leader will struggle to get the say-so needed from the MPs, the party's governing bodies and two thirds of his grassroots members at a special meeting if he wants to do another deal with the Tories.
Erm, restricting child benefits MAY. be a Tory policy, but isn't restricting child benefits a definite UKIP policy?
Robert McWhirter, Politics live reader
The Guardian
Image source, AFP/Getty ImagesDavid Cameron has given an interview to the Guardian newspaper, external in which he says he remains convinced the Conservatives “will get there” over the final week of the election campaign but adds it is time to “throw caution to the winds”.
The prime minister acknowledged that people are hesitant about voting Conservative because they need to think hard after seven years of struggle in the wake of the recession.
Mr Cameron, who says he has “turned up the dial markedly” in recent days as a “passionate prime minister” hitting the election trail, adds: “I think we will get there. But the reason it is taking time is, quite rightly, people want to have a good look and a good think.”
The Daily Mail
The Daily Mail tells its readers that ten million people have not decided which way to vote next week, external.
A poll for the paper, carried out by ComRes, reveals that 7 May "will see the most unpredictable election in a generation".
Four in ten of those who plan to vote say they are totally undecided or could switch parties, the poll suggests.