Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

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With Conservative Jeremy Hunt having criticised the Labour leader over his past opposition to Nato, Barry Gardiner now defends Jeremy Corbyn's record.

He's asked about Mr Corbyn having said as recently as 2014 that Nato was created to promote the Cold War with the Soviet Union.

Mr Gardiner says "we are committed to Nato" and he refuses to "personalise" the discussion when the party policy is clear.

"The way you defend the country is to make sure you don’t go on foreign wars and you don’t start bombing before you start thinking," he says.

He says Mr Corbyn was "on the right side of history" over conflicts such as Iraq and Libya, which he opposed.

Asked why it is Nato's responsibility to de-escalate in the face of aggression from countries such as Russia, he says: "If you want to create the conditions of peace you have to understand what is driving the other side and you have to respond appropriately."

Mr Gardiner says Labour is offering "real defence" not "aggressive militarism".

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Labour's Barry Gardiner is now on the Today programme discussing his party's warnings about the threat to the NHS from trade talks with the US.

President Trump said earlier this year "everything", including the health service, would be "on the table" in talks, but Mr Gardiner notes he has now "backtracked" and insisted it would not be included.

"I wonder where he's got that advice from... perhaps his visit to No 10 earlier in the day schooled him about what he should say," Labour's shadow trade secretary suggests.

He says that if it's true the NHS won't be part of negotiations "why have we not stopped these discussions?" - or made it clear "that there's no point talking about NHS services".

"The Americans have made that clear when it comes to climate change, why haven't we on the NHS?"

Read our piece from BBC health editor Hugh Pym, who looks at whether the NHS could really be up for sale.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Mr Hunt, who was health secretary until July 2018, tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he "wasn't aware of any talks going on with the US" about trade and the NHS.

He was responding to a question about leaked documents which recount two years of talks between UK and US officials.

Mr Hunt says the Conservatives have "made it absolutely clear that NHS drug prices are absolutely off the table".

Asked about the party's lack of firm proposals to reform social care in their manifesto - which adds to pressures on hospitals - Mr Hunt says they have promised an extra £1bn but adds that devising reforms "takes time".

He says at this election, unlike the two before it, "we are having an argument about how to spend more on our public services" - and argues there's only the money to do that because of how the Tories have managed the economy.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

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Former Health and Foreign Secretary - and Tory leadership runner-up - Jeremy Hunt has been on the Today programme, discussing Donald Trump's visit, the NHS and social care.

He rejects the idea that Boris Johnson has been avoiding being photographed with the president in light of the intense scrutiny being put on the UK's future trading relationship with the US.

Mr Hunt says the president is "incredibly supportive of Britain’s role in the world", but that the Tories "don’t want at this stage in the election campaign to have any big involvement by any foreign leader".

He criticises French President Emmanuel Macron's comments that Nato is "brain dead" because it can no longer rely on the US, calling the remarks "unhelpful".

Mr Hunt says "the biggest source of tension" in the alliance is defence spending - a long-standing complaint from Mr Trump - with countries like France spending only 1.5% of their GDP while the US spends 4%.

He is keen to move the interview towards an attack on Labour's Jeremy Corbyn, saying in the past he has wanted to "dismantle" Nato - although the party's manifesto makes it clear that it supports maintaining the UK's commitment to the alliance.

Image source, STV

The four major Scottish party leaders - the SNP's Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish Conservatives' Jackson Carlaw, Willie Rennie of the Scottish Lib Dems and Scottish Labour's Richard Leonard - took part in a TV election debate last night.

The politicians were challenged on their records and views on indyref2.

Ms Sturgeon said Scotland's future was "on the line at this election", adding: "We want Scotland to be an independent, internationalist country and we are determined that the people of Scotland will have the right to make that choice."

Mr Carlaw said Ms Sturgeon did not "respect the result" of referendums. He warned that if the Tories were not the largest party in the Commons after 12 December, Mr Corbyn could "sell out Scotland and cave in to Nicola Sturgeon's demand" for a second vote on independence in 2020.

Mr Rennie said he wanted to stop Brexit and indyref2, and called for "an end to the constitutional division we have endured for almost a decade".

And Mr Leonard said that Scottish independence would be "economically devastating" and "would lead to a hard border" between Scotland and the rest of the UK, as well as "turbo-charged austerity".

Read the full story here.

We've been beavering away during this campaign to bring all the parties' promises together in one place - and this is it, our election policy guide.

Check it out to help you work out how to cast your vote next Thursday.

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As we mentioned, this morning's policy offering from the Conservatives is an extra £4.2bn of spending on local train, bus and tram services outside London.

The money aims to address criticism like that from the think tank IPPR North, which says transport spending is two-and-a-half times higher in the capital than elsewhere, leading to higher fares and worse services.

A planned £840m a year, starting in 2022, may not got that far but the Tories say it would be in addition to a £100bn pledge for new infrastructure over five years.

Labour called the announcement "pathetic" and the Liberal Democrats said the Tories "simply don't get public transport".

You might remember that on Monday Labour promised a big cut in rail fares and free travel for under 16s.

Read the full story

If you’ve had something drop through your door that looked like a local newspaper but turned out to be a party political campaign leaflet, you’re not alone.

The tactic has been widespread this election among all the major parties and it’s now drawn criticism from newspaper industry group the Society of Editors.

Executive director Ian Murray said the public would not forgive politicians who “attempt to take them for mugs” and who risk undermining trust in genuine local publications.

Read the full story.

Image source, Getty Images

Speaking of President Trump, his arrival in the UK rather overshadowed more traditional electioneering on Tuesday.

Much discussion focused around whether he would have a one-to-one meeting with Boris Johnson - the two men are taking part in a Nato meeting in Hertfordshire with lots of other leaders.

Opposition parties continue to argue that post-Brexit trade talks with the US could undermine the NHS and food standards, making a meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Johnson politically sensitive so close to an election - although it would be very unusual for a British prime minister not to have a bilateral meeting with a visiting US president.

Now Downing Street says that meeting - despite not being officially scheduled - did take place off-camera, and involved discussion of Syria and Nato defence spending.

You can read the full story about that here. There are more Nato meetings today at the Grove in Watford and we'll be keeping an eye on any news that emerges from them.

Listen here on BBC Sounds to the latest from Adam and Chris with a special guest - Newsnight's Emily Maitlis. Spoiler alert, it includes comparisons between President Trump and one Homer Simpson.

Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the general election campaign. There are eight days left until polling day and we’ll be bringing you updates of all the latest developments as they happen.

The Conservatives are putting the spotlight on local transport and we’re expecting a speech on the economy from Labour’s John McDonnell later this morning.