The head of the British Army is examining proposals to create a Sikh regiment, the Armed Forces minister has said. Mark Francois said the idea "may well have merit" as he told the Commons a reserve company was also under consideration. Conservative former defence minister Sir Nicholas Soames had urged ministers to "do away with political correctness" and raise a Sikh regiment.

The World at One BBC Radio 4
Presented by Martha Kearney

If you missed it earlier, here's the clip from today's World at One whether Martha Kearney talks to three guests about whether protecting pensioner benefits is unfair to younger generations.

tweets, external: The Mogg makes a grand defence of tax avoidance, says "the most respectable families" do it. Osborne squirms, says he's "not going there".

House of Commons
Parliament

The Prime Minister tells the Commons everyone has a responsibility to help stop young people being radicalised. Schools, colleges, families, religious leaders and community leaders all had a part to play, he said.

David Cameron, speaking about the disappearance of three teenage girls thought to be heading for Syria, also said there was a need for a new agreement with airlines to make sure "at-risk" children could be identified. The government was working on that, he said.

A Conservative MP appears to have questioned whether or not Labour's Rachel Reeves would be able to handle a cabinet role while pregnant, if Labour wins the election. She has dismissed his comments, and Downing Street backed her, saying it was up to individuals to decide what they wanted to do.

There's just time for a quick change of guard here at Politics Live, while the afternoon team take over. It's been a busy morning, what with speeches from party leaders David Cameron, Nigel Farage and Nick Clegg. But the main political story of the day, which continues to provoke strong reaction from across the political divide focuses on the the cash for access claims against Jack Straw and Sir Malcolm Rifkind. The debate in the Commons over the HSBC tax scandal continues to rage and colleague Angela Harrison will continue to bring you all the news and analysis for the rest of the day.

House of Commons
Parliament

Downing Street said ministers did not know about these allegations until two weeks ago when the prime minister was unable to answer similar questions.

But now Mr Osborne says he knew in 2009, Ed Balls says.

Mr Balls accuses the government of receiving detailed information in May 2010 about 1,000 HSBC clients.

House of Commons
Parliament

George Osborne says of Mr Balls: "He is fighting for his political life."

"The person bringing this question to the House is the person with the most to answer for," adding that the country had lost confidence in Mr Balls.

House of Commons
Parliament

Ed Balls says if George Osborne first became aware of alleged HSBC tax evasion "why did he not act when he became chancellor?". He said: "Did Lord Green have any involvement in the Swiss tax deal when he was trade minister? Did he ever give advice to the Treasury on it?"

He accused the government of "negligence in failing to act on the evidence the government received".

"Just as in the appointment of Mr [Andy] Coulson, did not they just turn a blind eye?" he said.

House of Commons
Parliament

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls tells MPs the country needs answers not another chancellor sweeping allegations under the carpet.

House of Commons
Parliament

"I first became aware in 2009 when an article appeared in the Financial Times, " says Chancellor George Osborne.

"He [shadow chancellor Ed Balls] was a cabinet minister when he first heard about them."

House of Commons
Parliament

In answering an urgent question from shadow chancellor Ed Balls, Chancellor George Osborne said that the "chief executive of HMRC has confirmed they have the necessary resources to carry out their work on this". He added that "the House should know that in each and every case" the tax evasions happened before 2006, when Labour was in power. He said that under the coalition government "tax evasion prosecutions are up fivefold".

House of Commons
Parliament

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon tells MPs that any Russian military excursion into UK waters or airspace "will be properly dealt with".

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs will shortly be hearing an urgent question to Chancellor George Osborne from shadow chancellor Ed Balls on HSBC and the row over tax avoidance and evasion.

House of Lords
Parliament

In the House of Lords, the first of two report stage days on the Modern Slavery Bill begins.

The bill, which applies to England and Wales, aims to provide law enforcement agencies with better tools to stamp out modern slavery.

It would increase the punishment for slavery crimes, including a maximum life sentence.

Image source, PA

Broadcasting watchdog Ofcom has said it is carrying out an investigation into the Channel 4 docudrama, which imagined UKIP leader Nigel Farage as prime minister. The show - called UKIP: The First 100 Days - was set in a future in which UKIP won the 2015 general election, and sparked 5,262 complaints. A Channel 4 spokeswoman said: "We are confident that the programme did not breach the Ofcom code and we will be providing a response to the investigation." Meanwhile, a UKIP spokesman said: "As we know, Ofcom has received a huge number of complaints. They must now get on and do their job."

The Liberal Democrats say they want to see fewer people in prison if they're part of the next government. Leader Nick Clegg says locking up drug addicts and people with mental health problems risks turning them in to hardened offenders - and that this doesn't mean his party is "soft on crime".

In a speech, he said: "Abused and vulnerable women, people with serious mental health issues, drug users and addicts, all crammed like sardines into crowded prisons. That is not proof that prison is working. It's a litany of despair."

Tweets, external: Few weeks ago in Tilbury UKIP voters told me Farage's support for private health insurance might put them off. No wonder he backtracked.

Image source, Getty Images

Phillip Blond, who is a director of the centre-right think-tank ResPublica, said MPs should be banned from having second jobs, but they should be paid more for being in Parliament. He said: "I think we really need to look at the true origin of all of this expenses, cash-for-access scandal... which is actually in terms of the proper parity that MPs should receive for their job. They are actually not paid enough. We need to recognise that MPs are at the top of the public service tree, and pay them at the same level as top GPs, top civil servants, top head teachers."

UKIP leader Nigel Farage said his party was "committed" to a free NHS paid for by taxes, as he made pledges to increase NHS pay and funding.