Summary

  • Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond says the UK and Russia will continue to have a "prickly relationship" if there is no clear change in Vladimir Putin's intentions towards Ukraine

  • Mr Hammond refuses to commit to meeting Nato's target of 2% of GDP being spent on defence if the Conservatives win in May

  • Ed Miliband says he would pass a law guaranteeing TV debates in all future general elections

  • Labour candidate Lesley Brennan turns down a £1,000 donation to her campaign from Tony Blair

  • Reports suggest the government is considering banning radical Islamists from working unsupervised with children

  • There are 60 days until the general election

Live Reporting

Nick Eardley and Victoria King

  1. Ben Riley-Smith, political correspondent, Daily Telegraph

    tweets: Home Office source confirms Sunday Times story -- Theresa May will scrap ACPO within weeks.

  2. Hugo Rifkind, Times columnist

    tweets: Yes, the SNP might help govern UK and want to scrap it. Like Ukip does with EU Parliament, or Lib Dems do in unelected Lords. Calm down.

  3. International Women's Day

    The Andrew Marr Show

    What position do women have in the UK? On International Women's Day, Amol Rajan says Angela Merkel is arguably the most powerful person in the world right now. In a couple of years, it could be Hilary Clinton. Sarah Baxter says Theresa May is one to watch after the election.

  4. Hung parliament?

    The Andrew Marr Show

    On Scotland, and polls suggesting Labour could be set to lose many of its seats, Amol Rajan says it seems we're on the verge of a constitutional crisis if the SNP is in a position to be kingmaker after the election.

  5. George Eaton, political editor, New Statesman

    tweets: Can Osborne reconcile desire to cut defence spending with his ardent neoconservatism? #Marr

  6. Paper review

    The Andrew Marr Show

    Now we're onto defence and reports of a possible Tory mutiny if real-term spending is cut. Amol Rajan says it seems not everything can be ring-fenced and defence can't be seen to be exempt from cuts. Sarah Baxter says America is concerned about Britain's role.

  7. TV debates row

    The Andrew Marr Show

    Amol Rajan and Sarah Baxter

    On the TV debates, there is speculation over who might blink first - broadcasters or the prime minister. Amol Rajan mentions suggestions David Cameron may be interviewed instead - possibly at great length by some hard-headed hack - if he doesn't part in debates. Sarah Baxter says she doesn't think the public cares at all - she asks why Ed Miliband is talking about this rather than the big political issues.

  8. Tim Montgomerie, Conservative blogger and Times columnist

    tweets: Despite what @SarahbaxterSTM says on #Marr: 85% of benefit of higher income tax thresholds goes to the 50% highest earners.

  9. Paper view

    The Andrew Marr Show

    Sarah Baxter starts the paper review on Marr talking about a story in the Sunday Times about a "tax bonanza" ahead of the election. She says such a political chancellor would leave something for his last Budget. Amol Rajan says Mr Osborne is all over the papers this morning and says it feels like "David Cameron is the face of an Osborne government."

  10. Front pages

    You can also cast your eyes over our own newspaper review here. The ongoing battle over the TV debates is among the stories making the headlines.

  11. Paper view

    The Andrew Marr Show

    On this morning's paper view we have Amol Rajan, editor of the Independent, and Sarah Baxter, deputy editor of the Sunday Times.

  12. Nicky Morgan MP, women's minister

    tweets: Getting ready to join @helenpankhurst to #walkinhershoes Women and girls everywhere deserve time for work or school #womensday

  13. John Pienaar, BBC Radio 5 live's chief political correspondent

    tweets: On Pienaar's at 10am on @bbc5live I'll be speaking to the Leader of the House of Lords, Baroness @tinastowell and Labour's @SadiqKhan.

  14. William Hague, leader of the House of Commons

    tweets: This #InternationalWomensDay let's remember those who suffer appalling #sexualviolence in conflict. Rape in war cannot go unpunished

  15. Marr line-up

    The Andrew Marr Show

    The Andrew Marr show is getting under way shortly. On the show today are Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, shadow energy secretary Caroline Flint and Michael Sheen, the actor and UNICEF ambassador. You can follow the show on this page via the live coverage tab on desktop.

  16. Labour on anti-extremism

    Shadow home affairs minister Diana Johnson has been responding to reports the UK government is considering banning radical Islamists from working unsupervised with children. She says: "Theresa May abolished control orders, weakened counter-terror powers, downgraded Prevent work and has failed to properly support the police, or communities, parents and local organisations who are trying to counteract radicalisation. As always the rhetoric doesn't match the reality."

  18. Saturday recap

    There was plenty of political news around yesterday. Here's a quick recap of the biggest stories of the day in case you missed them:

  19. David Jack, business reporter on the Times

    tweets: Tories lead by 1 point in latest @YouGov/SundayTimes poll: Con 34%, Lab 33%, UKIP 15%, Lib Dems 8%, Green 5% Read more.

  20. Women candidates under-represented

    The BBC has found that women are heavily under-represented among general election candidates in Scotland. Fewer than three in 10 standing for the five largest parties are female. More here.