Summary

  • David Cameron and Ed Miliband clash over their tax and business policies at Prime Minister's Questions

  • Sir John Chilcot hopes will not set date for his report of his inquiry into the Iraq War

  • Control of Rotherham council to be handed over to commissioners after child abuse scandal; New Zealand judge to head historical abuse inquiry

  • Rolling coverage from the BBC's political team - from Today and Breakfast through to Newsnight and Today in Parliament

  1. £2.8m for a new fundpublished at 12:54 Greenwich Mean Time 4 February 2015

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Theresa May announces a second £2.8m fund to help organisations dealing with increased demands because of people coming forward following the launch of the inquiry. This will go alongside a a £2m fund for announced last year.

    These funds are now "up and running", she says.

  2. Postpublished at 12:53 Greenwich Mean Time 4 February 2015

    Daily Politics
    Live on BBC Two

    Conservative minister Penny Mordaunt defends the government's record on cracking down on tax avoidance. She says Ed Miliband's questions show he is pursuing a "core vote strategy". He has to go beyond that and say something about good business practice, she says, adding that there won't be a strong NHS without a strong economy, which requires a healthy business environment.

  3. No bar to informationpublished at 12:52 Greenwich Mean Time 4 February 2015

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Theresa May says a "clear protocol" will be put in place to ensure no "information falls through the cracks". She once again assures the house that the Official Secrets Act will not be a bar to giving evidence to this inquiry.

  4. 'Free to apply'published at 12:51 Greenwich Mean Time 4 February 2015

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    QC Ben Emmerson, counsel to the child sex abuse inquiryImage source, PA
    Image caption,

    QC Ben Emmerson is to remain at the inquiry's counsel

    QC Ben Emmerson, counsel to the current inquiry, will stay on as counsel to the new one and existing panel members will be "free to apply" for the places on new inquiry, Theresa May tells MPs. Mrs May also says she is considering extending the inquiry's remit to the period before 1970s.

  5. Who is Justice Lowell Goddard?published at 12:49 Greenwich Mean Time 4 February 2015

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Justice Lowell GoddardImage source, PA

    A little background on Justice Lowell Goddard. The 66-year-old commenced practice as a barrister in 1975. She was appointed Deputy Solicitor-General for New Zealand in 1992 and then to its High Court bench in 1995.

    In 2007 she was appointed chairwoman of the Independent Police Conduct Authority, the first New Zealand woman to hold the position. While she was in that role, the authority released a report on the outcome of its inquiry into police handling of child abuse cases in New Zealand.

  6. Panel 'dissolved'published at 12:47 Greenwich Mean Time 4 February 2015

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Theresa May also announces she will "dissolve" the current Child Abuse inquiry panel and start again. Mrs May says she will consult with Justice Goddard to appoint a new panel.

  7. 'Wealth of experience'published at 12:47 Greenwich Mean Time 4 February 2015

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Theresa May says the Home Office considered 150 names for the post of chair and after consultation with victims decided on Justice Goddard, who will bring a "wealth of experience to the role".

  8. PMQs analysispublished at 12:44 Greenwich Mean Time 4 February 2015

    Nick Robinson
    Political editor

    BBC political editor Nick Robinson is on BBC 2's Daily Politics programme, offering his analysis of the leaders' exchanges. He says it was an interesting decision by Ed Miliband to choose "to walk towards the sound of Tory gun fire". That tells us something quite interesting - that he believes that if the argument is not about business, but bad business practices, namely tax avoidance, then he is on "winning turf". Better to have the row and try to define it in his own terms than allow the Conservatives to have a go at him, our correspondent adds.

  9. Breaking Newspublished at 12:42 Greenwich Mean Time 4 February 2015

    Home Secretary Theresa May announces that Justice Lowell Goddard, a serving judge in New Zealand's High Court, is to lead the UK's inquiry into historical child sex abuse.

  10. Child abuse statementpublished at 12:41 Greenwich Mean Time 4 February 2015

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Theresa May

    Theresa May says she has held dozens of meetings with abuse survivors.

    She is "more determined than ever" to expose abusers, and expose those who did not act and in some cases "positively covered up evidence" of abuse, she says.

  11. Child abuse inquiry statementpublished at 12:37 Greenwich Mean Time 4 February 2015

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    PMQs has now finished and Home Secretary Theresa May is now on her feet to announce who's going to chair the inquiry into historical child abuse. The first two people appointed by Ms May resigned after perceived conflicts of interest - as they were seen to be too close to the British establishment which would be under investigation.

  12. University fundingpublished at 12:36 Greenwich Mean Time 4 February 2015

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    After a question from Conservative MP Jesse Norman, David Cameron says a long-term plan for funding our universities is needed and cites criticism of plans being considered by Labour to reduce tuition fees from £9,000 to £6,000.

  13. Caroline Lucas, Green MPpublished at 12:35 Greenwich Mean Time 4 February 2015

    tweets:, external #PMQs descending into even more rowdy childishness than usual - grown men (primarily) barracking, bullying & booing is parliament at worst..

  14. Pic: Government benchespublished at 12:34 Greenwich Mean Time 4 February 2015

    David Cameron
  15. Nick Robinson, BBC Political Editorpublished at 12:33 Greenwich Mean Time 4 February 2015

    Nick Robinson
    Political editor

    tweets:, external Q- Why did @Ed_Miliband walk into gunfire on Lab & business at #PMQs? A - Believes voters back his attacks on Tory tax avoiding "predators"

  16. Schools defendedpublished at 12:31 Greenwich Mean Time 4 February 2015

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    David Cameron defends the government's education reforms after a question from Labour backbencher David Anderson, who attacked changes to the education system.

  17. Supportive questionpublished at 12:30 Greenwich Mean Time 4 February 2015

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Conservative MP Graham Stuart - helpfully for the PM - shoehorns the Conservatives' "long term economic plan" in his question to the PM, as he invites David Cameron to visit a pork factory in his constituency. He welcomes government efforts to increase exports to China.

  18. Mark Wallace, Conservative Homepublished at 12:29 Greenwich Mean Time 4 February 2015

    tweets: , externalChaos versus competence gets a run out - we'll hear lots more of that. #PMQs

  19. Jane Merrick, The Independentpublished at 12:29 Greenwich Mean Time 4 February 2015

    tweets:, external Ed Balls and George Osborne are arguing like a couple in the kitchen at a dinner party. They cannot stop being at each other's throats #pmqs

  20. Labour attack on Cameron recordpublished at 12:29 Greenwich Mean Time 4 February 2015

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Steve Rotherham

    Steve Rotheram, Liverpool Wavertree MP, seeks to hold David Cameron to account for his pre-2010 election promises, saying he has broken pledges on immigration and the deficit and should go. David Cameron replies that his government has turned the economy round, created more jobs, cut the deficit and protected the NHS.