More from the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament on Sir Malcolm Rifkind's resignation as its chair.

A statement reads: "At a meeting of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament earlier today, the Rt. Hon. Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP informed the Committee that he had decided to step down from the role of Chairman with effect from the end of the meeting, and would be making a public statement to that effect. The Committee accepted the Chairman's decision.

"At the meeting, the Committee completed its major Inquiry into Privacy and Security, and its Report will now be sent to the Prime Minister. Given that that concludes the substantive work of the Committee in this Parliament, and that the Committee has no further formal meetings scheduled before the prorogation of Parliament, the Committee decided that there was therefore no need for it to elect a new Chairman for the remaining few weeks."

The Intelligence and Security Committee has confirmed it will not elect a new chairman before the election. In a statement, it says "further matters that arise" before 7 May will "be dealt with by the committee as a whole."

Nick Robinson
Political editor

Reporting on Sir Malcolm Rifkind's change of heart over his position today, BBC political editor Nick Robinson tells BBC Six O'Clock News: "No 10 threatened to push Sir Malcolm Rifkind if he didn't jump first."

Liz Smith - a Conservative member of the Scottish Parliament and a former political adviser to Sir Malcolm Rifkind - has been giving her reaction to his decision to stand down as an MP.

She told BBC News: "He's a very reflective person. He will have considered very carefully not only what the facts of the situation were but also the reaction that he would be getting from friends and colleagues, and indeed from opposition. And you know he was very forthright this morning that it was the right thing to do and he makes it very clear that it was for personal reasons as well as political ones. And I have to say the reactions that I've heard today, there's huge respect that he's done the honourable thing."

BBC News Channel

Fraser Nelson says inequality is becoming the biggest issue in the UK and voters will wonder what planet politicians are on when they say £67,000 is not a lot of money. All politicians face those charges, he says, but the Conservatives "are very open" to such accusations. Polly Toynbee says this will be an issue that plays on people's minds.

BBC News Channel

Also on the News Channel, The Spectator editor Fraser Nelson says he will be surprised if it hadn't been made clear to Sir Malcolm that it would be good for the Conservative party if he resigned. He gave a good defence of himself yesterday, Mr Nelson adds, but the story has become toxic.

BBC News Channel

Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee says that had Malcolm Rifkind eaten some humble pie yesterday, he may have survived. He is well respected, she adds. But his words to Dispatches would have made that very difficult, she says. It is unfair how low public perception of politicians is at the moment, she tells BBC News, but this scandal will be harmful for politics - particularly, the Tories, she says.

During David Cameron's appearance before the Liaison Committee of senior MPs, he announced that British military personnel are to be sent to Ukraine in the next few weeks to provide advice and training. Our colleagues at BBC World have written up the story.

tweets, external: "I hope to be back" says Cameron at the end of last liaison committee of this parliament #GE2015

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And that's all for David Cameron's appearance before the Liaison Committee. Will he appear before the MPs as prime minister again? We'll know in a few weeks time...

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Asked about diversity in the civil service by Labour MP Keith Vaz, David Cameron says the work of creating a meritocratic country is "not complete" until there are people at the top of the civil service from ethnic minority backgrounds. But, he adds, "progress has been made".

tweets, external: Natalie Bennett wisely gets out of taking calls on LBC tonight, pleading illness. Presumably just acting on (spin) doctor's orders.

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David Cameron is asked whether the civil service could look at a constitutional convention on English devolution. The PM says it is possible, but it could become a way to simply park the issue of devolution for England. Mr Cameron says his government is devolving power now "because it is right". The process of devolution in England is "exciting" he says.

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On devolution in England, David Cameron says "English votes for English laws" is an important first step. He says regional assemblies are a bad idea and that the current set-up should be used to devolve more power to local authorities.

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In response to a question from Margaret Hodge, Labour chair of the Public Accounts Committee, David Cameron explains to the committee how communication in government works. He says the system at the moment is "pretty thorough".

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If you look at how the coalition has carried out spending decisions, David Cameron says, ministers work very closely together. He says a lot of "duplication" has been cut out in government.

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Speaking about the structure of government, David Cameron says there are "important functions" where the government could do "way better". Such reform has to be driven from the centre, but departments should be allowed autonomy to introduce policies, he adds.

tweets, external: Cameron: 'the model of comprehensive schools under local authority governance... it failed'

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There is a culture of improvement and intolerance of failure in the education system now, Mr Cameron says. He says reforms have been "exciting" and pays tribute to academies who have been "pioneers" in turning around education. And the prime minister says autonomy for schools is a good thing, with some local authorities having been guilty of failing schools "year after year".

Before we dive into creating a new system of accountability, Mr Cameron says there are a number of indicators of success and failure already. He is wary of creating a new accountability structure, he adds.

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There are tensions in any government between ministers and the civil service, David Cameron says. But the problem is not as bad as some make out, he adds.