Ross Hawkins
Political correspondent, BBC News

The prime minister's spokeswoman has said David Cameron was deeply saddened by news of Kayla Mueller's death, and added that his thoughts were with Ms Mueller's friends and family. The spokeswoman said the PM was clear that "brutal ISIL terrorists" were responsible for Ms Mueller's death.

Image source, Getty Images

Keith Vaz highlights the case of a lorry driver constituent who found an illegal immigrant hiding in his vehicle. The man drove to the nearest police station in France but the officers were not interested and the driver had to "chase" the stowaway away himself. The French authorities may say they are helping to stem the flow of illegal migrants into the UK, says the home affairs committee chairman, but this one example (there are plenty of others) suggests it is not happening on the ground. Minister James Brokenshire says he will look into it.

tweets, external: Boris Johnson was auctioned off at the black and white ball without his knowledge and may not be able to do it

BBC's political correspondent Andrew Sinclair is in Lowestoft today looking at how the election campaign is affecting the area. He visited the constituency of Waveney and says the area has above average unemployment, and below average wages.

Home Office minister James Brokenshire admits UK-born citizens who want to bring their spouses into the UK from outside the EU are getting a raw deal. Since 2012, only those who earn at least £18,600 a year can sponsor their non-European spouse's visa, in a move aimed at easing the financial burden of immigration on the state.

But, points out Keith Vaz, the rule does not apply to citizens of other EU countries who have settled in the UK. So someone who has leave to remain in the UK or is British born must show their income meets the threshold, while "their next door neighbour who comes from Slovakia and who wants to bring their spouse from India doesn't have to show that income," says the home affairs committee chairman. Isn't this unfair?

"It is something that needs to be addressed," says Mr Brokenshire.

Other snippets from the Clegg speech include his views on the EU. He said: "I believe this endless hokey-cokey about whether or not we stay in the EU is destabilising for British business. My party's view is clear. Yes to a referendum if and when the rules of the game change. In other words, when there is a new EU treaty.

"But I don't believe the timing of such a momentous decision, which could potentially jeopardise millions of jobs in our country, should be determined by the domestic political needs of one party in Westminster. Of course the EU is not perfect. We will always make the case for reform so that the EU works better for British business and British citizens."

Vicki Young
Political correspondent, BBC News

The BBC's chief political correspondent Vicki Young says Nick Clegg's speech today saw the deputy prime minister "making a pitch very clearly for the centre ground", and "trying to get the Lib Dems to get some of the credit for the good economic news" we've heard lately.

She adds that what struck her about the speech is that "a large part of it was given over to trying to say there are hundreds of thousands of women who want to go back to work and he wants to encourage them to do so", by enacting more flexible working contracts, more childcare, equal wages for women. This is, she suggests, "not the kind of thing, normally, this kind of audience - a business audience - hears very often or wants to hear".

House of Lords
Parliament

The continuing devastation of the Syrian civil war flared up once again in the headlines today as the BBC's Middle East editor, Jeremy Bowen, interviewed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Now, in the House of Lords, Labour peer Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws has been telling peers of reports that accuse all sides in the Syrian civil war of committing sexual crimes against women in children, which constitute "war crimes and crimes against humanity."

Foreign Office Minister Baroness Anelay of St Johns says that the UK, along with US and EU, are funding the Commission for International Justice and Accountability, external to develop document legal case files on war crimes such as this in Syria.

tweets, external: US hostage Kayla Mueller, held by Islamic State, has been killed, President Obama confirms http://bbc.in/1CdoBS2

Image source, Other

Just quickly back to the home affairs committee, where Lib Dem MP Julian Huppert name checks a new poster campaign by the Movement Against Xenephobia, external to highlight the positive contribution made by immigrants in the UK. Home Office Minister James Brokenshire says he hasn't seen the campaign but the government is keen to confront extremism and xenophobia "in all its forms".

Nick Clegg adds: "If we can unlock the talents of women, British business will boom. We will be more innovative, more entrepreneurial, more dynamic. Together, we have achieved remarkable success over the last five years. We brought stability out of crisis. We have started to build a stronger economy and a fairer society, where there are opportunities for everyone."

Nick Clegg addresses the BCC conference: "My own parliamentary party is too male and too pale. We can and must do more to make sure our party and our politics is more representative of the people we serve.

"If we're going to smash the glass ceiling then we - government and business - need to be ambitious. So today, I want us to think big. By the end of the next parliament, I want a million more women to be in work than there are today."

He adds: "If we want to smash the glass ceiling, we need British businesses to hold the hammer."

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg says he has to take a few moments to talk party political matters at the British Chambers of Commerce conference, as in the run-up to the election there are "big differences between the political parties which could have a big impact on the British economy, on your business, and on the economic fortunes of our country".

He says the country cannot "lurch to the left or right". Labour has "no coherent economic plan", and "despite paying lip service to the need for deficit reduction" have given "no indication of how they intend to do it". A Labour majority, he says, "would borrow billions more and put our stability and recovery at risk".

The Conservatives, meanwhile, are "proposing huge cuts to public spending far beyond what is needed to balance the books - not because they are necessary, but because they see an ideological opportunity to shrink the state".

The Independent

For each day of the final hundred before the polls open, The Independent has been inviting one contributor to describe what he or she would do as prime minister. Today's candidate is the writer and activist Lee Williams, external. He says: "I would start by trying to turn the tide of British politics away from corporatism, neo-liberal capitalism and growth economics and towards a more equal, environmentally-centred economy with a healthier balance between business and state."

It's been a busy day so far in the political world - you can see a brief recap below. The next major set-piece will be Nick Clegg's address to the British Chambers of Commerce conference, currently starting. We will, of course, be bringing you the live updates of that, as well as news, views, and analysis from across the BBC and the wider political scene.

Image source, PA

The parliamentary committee which polices the behaviour of MPs is in need of reform, a new report claims. More non-politicians should sit on the Commons standards committee, it suggests, although it stops short of recommending that lay members should be given a vote on disciplinary matters. The report was commissioned in the wake of a row last summer about the committee's handling of allegations about former culture secretary Maria Miller's expenses, a dispute which led to her resignation.

Alex Hunt and Chris Clayton

As we hand over the Politics Live baton halfway through 18 hours of coverage today, here's a recap of what's been a busy day so far.

• David Cameron claimed business was getting behind his EU referendum plans, after the British Chambers of Commerce's John Longworth said the vote should be brought forward to 2016 to avoid uncertainty.

• Labour's Ed Balls told the same BCC conference that the prospect of an EU referendum was causing huge uncertainty for business. He also insists Labour wants to work with business to create wealth and jobs.

• Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond told MPs there needs to be a stand taken against "Russian aggression", in a statement on the Ukraine situation.

• There are continuing questions about who knew what, when about the claims involving HSBC and tax avoidance/evasion.

Stay with our colleagues Adam Donald and Dominic Howell who look set to have a busy afternoon and evening bringing all the latest politics news, views and clips.

Over in Portcullis House, Keith Vaz - who sounds like he has a nasty head cold - is grilling immigration officials. Mandie Campbell, director general of the Immigration Enforcement Directorate, confirms that about 750 foreign national prisoners who should have been deported are still at large. Immigration officials are in contact with some of them, she adds brightly. "It's nice to chat," says the home affairs committee chairman, but are you doing anything about them? It's going to be a long afternoon for minister James Brokenshire and his officials.

The Daily Telegraph

At the Telegraph, Martin Baxter of Electoral Calculus warns, external that Conservatives hoping to benefit from the "Green surge" should be careful what they wish for. His analysis is that most Green voters are disgruntled former Lib Dems - a sizable group which will also provide many new Labour voters.

Earlier, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond told MPs the UK would keep its decision not to supply arms to Ukraine under review. He said: "We share a clear understanding that, while there is no military solution to this conflict, we could not allow the Ukrainian armed forces to collapse."