Summary

  • Jack Straw and Sir Malcolm Rifkind deny wrongdoing after Dispatches/Telegraph claims

  • Proposed schedule for televised election debates published by broadcasters

  • David Cameron's election pledge to keep universal benefits for pensioners

  • Lib Dem Nick Clegg says a rising prison population is a sign of "failure, not success"

  • UKIP set out its health policy, including an already announced extra £3bn of annual spending.

Live Reporting

Angela Harrison

  1. Pensioner plans

    BBC Radio 4 Today

    On Tory plans to protect the older among us from cuts, Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, says there inevitably have to be "really quite significant cuts on the non-pensioner side to keep everything on the pensioner side". He's also asked about Labour's promise that they would take away the winter fuel allowance from pensioners earning more than £42,000 a year. "That would save only around £100m a year which in context, is almost lost in the rounding," he said.

  2. NHS privatisation? 'Not a whiff' - UKIP

    Louise Bours

    Answering a question on rumours that UKIP wanted to privatise the NHS, UKIP MEP Louise Bours said: "Absolutely not looking at privatisation. There will be no privatisation. Not a whiff. The NHS must be funded entirely from taxation."

    She also said that "health and social care should be merged into one". "Cutting the bureaucracy and administration, we can make sure that everybody gets what they deserve," she added.

  3. Norman Smith
    BBC Assistant Political Editor

    Tweets: Sir Malcolm Rifkind says will not stand down as chairman of Intelligence and security committee @BBCr4today

  4. Rifkind: 'No negotiations'

    BBC Radio 4

    Sir Malcolm Rifkind: "I had involved myself in no negotiations." He added that when he watches Channel 4's programme tonight about the allegations he would be "hugely irritated and angry because I've got nothing to be embarrassed about".

  5. Rifkind on cash for access claims

    BBC Radio 4

    Sir Malcolm Rifkind - who was secretly recorded saying he didn't get a salary - goes on: "It was a silly thing to say... It could be misleading, yes, if you read it out of context." He gets paid an MP's wage, but said he was referring to his business interests when he discussed not getting a salary.

  6. 'Unfounded allegations'

    BBC Radio 4

    "These are very serious allegations and they are unfounded and I am going to fight them with all my strength," Sir Malcolm Rifkind tells the Today programme.

  7. Sun Politics

    Tweets: PM promises elderly: Your free perks are safe with us: More here

  8. Voting age concerns in Scotland

    A House of Lords committee has criticised the plan to transfer power from Westminster to Holyrood to enable 16 and 17-year-olds to vote. The proposal has the backing of all the political parties involved in the Smith Commission. But the House of Lords Constitution Committee said it had concerns about the way the process was being handled and the impact in the rest of the UK. The criticism was dismissed by both the UK and Scottish governments - and 16 and 17-year-olds did, of course, vote in last year's Scottish independence referendum. Get the full story here.

  9. Labour and child protection

    Other political titbits about today include Labour's shadow secretary Yvette Cooper explaining what Labour would do to improve child protection if elected. The party is expected to release Freedom of Information data suggesting "huge increases in demand for police attendance at child protection meetings". Then later, Ms Cooper's boss Ed Miliband will outline policies on arts and culture at Battersea Arts Centre.

  10. UKIP's health policy

    Yesterday, UKIP were making headlines for the wrong reasons after Nigel Farage spoke out to condemn his party's ex-councillor Rozanne Duncan for racism. But today he'll be hoping to shift the attention back to policy. Mr Farage is expected to make a speech later (11:00 GMT) setting out his party's health policy which would include an extra £3bn of annual spending. He is also expected to say he would scrap hospital parking charges, tuition fees for medical students and the health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission.

  11. Norman Smith
    BBC Assistant Political Editor

    Tweets: Sir Malcolm Rifkind summoned to see chief whip this morning over cash for access claims

  12. On now

    BBC Radio 4

    We're keeping a watchful ear across BBC Radio 4's Today programme so you wont miss anything, but you can listen too by clicking on our live tab above.

  13. Register to vote

    For those of you that haven't done so already, don't forget to register to vote if you want to take part in the 7 May general election. It takes about five minutes to do, and you will need your national insurance number.

  14. Analysis: 'Cash for access' row

    Eleanor Garnier
    Political correspondent

    These are very serious allegations about two extremely prominent MPs. All MPs work under a code of conduct and that includes their outside interests - any relationships they have with business and other organisations. They are not allowed to be paid advocates, i.e. they cant lobby for money. Both Jack Straw and Sir Malcolm Rifkind deny doing anything wrong.

  15. 'Cash for access' claims

    Away from the election campaign, a story which is likely to attract debate is the allegation that two former foreign secretaries - Jack Straw and Sir Malcolm Rifkind - have been secretly filmed apparently offering their services to a private company for thousands of pounds. The men are the subject of the allegations, arising from a joint investigation by the Daily Telegraph and Channel 4's Dispatches. The documentary makers said reporters posed as staff of a fake Chinese firm. The MPs have referred themselves to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. Both deny any wrongdoing. Read the full story here.

  16. Today's front pages

    If you've got a spare 10 minutes, why not have a browse of today's front pages. The gulf in earning power between the UK's high-earners and its lowest paid is laid bare in Monday's headlines. For example, the Daily Mirror reports Trades Union Congress' analysis suggesting that more than five million workers are paid less than £7.85 an hour. It prints a list of top 10 "worst pay black spots", where as many as 53% of people earn less than the figure campaigners consider a "living wage".

  17. Cameron speech on universal benefits

    David CameronPA

    Here's quick precis of another big story of the day - David Cameron's speech later in which he's set to say that universal benefits for pensioners will once again be protected if the Conservatives win May's general election. Mr Cameron has kept his 2010 election promise not to introduce means testing for benefits such as bus passes, TV licences and the winter fuel allowance. Get the full story here.

  18. Clegg speech on prisons

    Nick CleggPA

    Top of Monday's schedule is a big speech from Lib Dem deputy prime minister Nick Clegg on crime and justice. He's expected to say that thousands of people are being jailed unnecessarily in England and Wales, and a future Lib Dem government would push for the roll-out of "diversion and liaison services" - which intervene in the early stages when vulnerable offenders are first identified. He will also call for an evidence-based approach to do "what works" to cut crime, not just "to sound tough" or "play to the gallery".

  19. Good morning

    Hello and welcome to another day in the pre-election battle. Victoria King and Dominic Howell will bring you all the action, reaction and analysis in text and you'll be able to watch and listen to all the main BBC political programmes, from Today and Breakfast through to the Newsnight and Today in Parliament. Here's how Sunday unfolded.