tweets:, external My exploration of why gap between rich & rest has widened & what can be done on @BBCRadio4 - or here

The rights of 1,015 UK prisoners were breached when they were prevented from voting in elections, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled.

Four major science organisations are calling for UK spending on research and innovation to be doubled to stop Britain falling behind other countries. The Royal Society, British Academy, Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Academy of Medical Sciences say public investment must rise from 0.5% to 1% of GDP to drive economic growth.

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Rent-to-Own agreements are often too expensive and not clear enough, the Parliamentary Group on Debt and Personal Finance has said. The weekly rental services are often used by people on low incomes, many of whom can't access loans. The group's Labour chairman Yvonne Fovargue says customers aren't always aware they're sometimes paying for extras they don't need: "What they don't realise is that they're buying the insurance, they're buying the delivery charge, and they're paying the interest on this for the whole period of the agreement. So for example, some goods you could buy at, say, John Lewis - a washing machine for £386, is charged at £1,500 when you've paid all the interest and the insurances and delivery charge."

Image source, Today

tweets:, external President Assad 'bears no responsibility for Syria's humanitarian crisis'. Full interview: http://bbc.in/1E1iLoJ

BBC Radio 4 Today

John Longworth, director general, said British Chambers of Commerce members want an EU referendum. He said there was already debate about one, which was creating uncertainty, so if there was going to be one it needed to be held quickly (he wants one in 2016). He predicts that if Labour are elected they will be under huge pressure to have a referendum, which he says will create uncertainty if it's not clear whether they are going to give in or not. He says BCC members want to stay in EU trading bloc but don't want to join the euro or see any further integration.

BBC Radio 4 Today

The director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, John Longworth, said businesses had had a tough time during the recession and had had to rebuild their finances. He was asked what he made of the fact that David Cameron and Nick Clegg were attending his organisation's annual conference today, but not Ed Miliband. "You'll have to ask the Labour Party why Ed Miliband was unable to attend."

tweets:, external I am agog to know what was paid for the chance to do 10k "iron man" endeavour with Duncan-Smith & who bid

Justin Parkinson
Political reporter, BBC News

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The Labour government used the Parliament Act to ensure opposition in the House of Lords would not scupper the 2004 Hunting Bill, backed in a free vote of the House of Commons. About 3,000 protesters gathered outside when MPs voted, some becoming involved in scuffles with police and one group burning an effigy of Tony Blair in Parliament Square. After the Hunting Bill passed, supporters claimed it would protect animals, while opponents decried it as bad law which would be impossible to implement. Ten years on I've been looking at what impact the law has had.

Guardian columnist and former speechwriter for David Cameron Ian Birrell has written warning the Conservatives to "be wary of crowing too much alongside their corporate friends", external in attacking Labour over its approach to business. And he says the HSBC tax-avoidance row could reignite public concern that the party is "merely defending a corrosive form of crony capitalism".

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Actor Billy Murray, who played Don Beech in the TV series The Bill, was among those at the Conservatives' annual fundraising ball. Treats that were auctioned included a shoe-shopping trip with Home Secretary Theresa May and dinner at Michael Gove's home. The menu included smoked salmon, lamb and panna cotta with rhubarb and mint oil. Buzzfeed has what appears to be the full catalogue., external

tweets: , externalLabour write to Chancellor over #hsbc scandal accusing him of "failing to act" over tax evasion

While much of the political attention is focused on the BCC, shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt is expected to announce new "kinship rights" to children being brought up by siblings or grandparents. It means children being brought up by family members other than their parents would be given priority in school admissions under any future Labour government.

With debate today about whether any EU referendum should be held in 2016 rather than 2017, here's a timeline of the long campaign for a vote on UK membership.

Norman Smith
BBC Assistant Political Editor

From BBC Radio 4's Today programme: One thing that I suspect will be picked up on today is the fact that pretty much the world and his wife politically is addressing the British Chambers of Commerce conference. We've got Mr Clegg, Mr Cameron, Mr Cable - who we do not have is Mr Miliband. I've spoken to Mr Miliband's office. He was invited back in December but they say due to a diary clash he couldn't attend and Ed Balls will be attending instead. I think the danger is, in terms of perception, it tends to fuel the view that somehow Mr Miliband isn't that engaged, isn't that interested in business and I suspect some in Labour would have thought this might be a good time for Mr Miliband to get on the front foot to try to make the Labour case for business. I'm told he's not going to be there although he will be addressing the Engineering Employers' Federation in a few weeks' time.

However, the Guardian returns to the subject of its front page on Monday and of HSBC's actions in helping wealthy people avoid paying tax. Today it focuses on David Cameron's decision to make Stephen Green a minister, external - months after, it says, authorities were told about "wrongdoing" while he was a top executive at the bank.

Image source, Guardian

Several of today's papers discuss the PM's upcoming appearance at the BCC. The Times interprets the move as a "riposte to critics", including Ed Miliband, who claim companies are failing to reward employees.

Image source, Times

Iain Watson
Political correspondent, BBC News

John Longworth's call for an early referendum on EU membership is significant - the British Chambers of Commerce represent companies which employ five million people. So the organisation's leader's warning that business doesn't want the uncertainty of a long campaign on EU membership won't go unheeded.

But more perhaps significantly, his public comments reflect a private debate taking place at the highest levels of the Conservative Party. Some senior ministers are urging David Cameron - if he remains prime minister - to go for a referendum in 2016, not 2017. Partly this is because of the business climate, but it's also motivated by a desire to signal to potential UKIP supporters that the prime minister is really serious about holding an In/Out vote.

Some senior backbenchers are pushing for the prime minister to name a referendum date before the election, to steal a march on Nigel Farage.

However, one of David Cameron's closest allies on Europe believes he won't want to box himself in. The downside of an early referendum is that it wouldn't give much time to renegotiate Britain's relationship with Brussels. That, in turn, could increase the risk of a No vote. And both the prime minister and the head of the chambers of commerce say they want to stay in a reformed EU.

In case you missed it last night, the Conservative Party hosted its annual "Black and White ball" for party donors. Guests from a variety of industries were invited and David Cameron was there. Here are some of the better-known guests arriving:

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Norman Smith
BBC Assistant Political Editor

From BBC Radio 4's Today programme: David Cameron will be urging business leaders at the British Chambers of Commerce to give workers a pay rise. He won't quite say to them, 'You've never had it so good' but his view is the economy hasn't been so benign for business since the crash, with inflation down at half a per cent, growth now bedding in - the fastest growth for seven years - cheap borrowing costs, cheap energy costs, now is the time to pass on some of the profits business is earning in pay rises. In part that's an attempt to blunt Labour's offensive over the cost of living but I think it also does reflect perhaps an anxiety that although we know pay is gradually beginning to overtake inflation, it's happening very, very late in the day and I think the concern in government circles is will people actually feel better off by the time of the election.