Conservative Party conference is taking place in Manchester
Home Secretary Theresa May warns of impact of high immigration
London Mayor Boris Johnson says he wants Conservatives to 'unite our society'
David Cameron says parents of truants could have child benefit docked
Work and Pension Secretary Iain Duncan Smith says welfare reforms are 'restoring lives'
That's all for our coverage today, on a day Boris Johnson and Theresa May both set out their stall in Manchester. Tomorrow is a big day for the prime minister who will make his 10th speech as Conservative leader to the party conference at about 11.30 BST, setting out his vision for the country for the next five years. Do join us for the build-up to the speech.
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James Landale will introduce Conservative Party conference clips from Zac Goldsmith, Nicky Morgan, Iain Duncan Smith, Liz Truss and Boris Johnson, with some highlights from the lunchtime Daily Politics.
He is on BBC2 after Newsnight withToday at Conference at 23:15 (later in Scotland and Northern Ireland), repeated at 10.00 on Wednesday.
James Landale
Deputy political editor
Image source, ReutersOn one level, this is a political parlour game that is four years premature.
But on another level, it reflects a gradual transfer of power that is taking place within the Tory party from one leadership to the next.
And it also reflects a debate within the Tory Party over the direction it should take now. To the centre to occupy ground vacated by Labour? To the right to make the most of the party's majority in the House of Commons?
To leave the European Union or stay in the European Union? And these are choices that could affect us all.
Read James' thoughts on the debate over the Conservative succession
David Cameron has indicated he is willing to intervene personally to urge Saudi Arabia not to carry out a death sentence on a young man arrested for taking part in a protest when still a teenager. Speaking to Channel 4 News, the prime minister said the UK had raised the case of Ali Mohammed al-Nimr, who has been sentenced to death by crucifixion and beheading. The case was highlighted by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in his conference speech a week ago. Mr Cameron said:
Quote MessageThe foreign secretary has raised this, our embassy has raised this, we raise this in the proper way. I will look to see if there is an opportunity for me to raise it as well. We oppose the death penalty anywhere and everywhere and we make that clear in all of our international contacts."
Former prime minister Tony Blair has said the international community must be prepared to do "everything and more" to support those fighting Islamist militants in Syria and elsewhere around the world. Speaking to the BBC after making a speech in New York, he said Syria had "virtually disintegrated" but there would have ultimately to be a political settlement to end the fighting there, involving Russia and other allies of the regime of President Assad. He added:
Quote MessageWe have just got to recognise this is a fight about our own security. It is not simply to do with a struggle that is in a faraway country. The truth is now we have hundreds of thousands of refugees coming from Syria to Europe. The first wave of this will be refugees. The second wave, I fear, will be terrorism and problems of terrorism arising out of what is happening in Syria. And we have both got to deal with that problem which is the outcome of the crisis in Syria and to try and resolve the actual crisis in Syria itself."
Image source, PAAs is traditional on the eve of David Cameron's closing speech to conference, the Conservatives have released some pictures of the Tory leader putting the finishing touches to his address. It will be his 10th speech to the Tory faithful as their leader but the first as the prime minister of a majority Conservative government.
Image source, PA
Image source, ReutersGreater Manchester Police have been defending their policing of the Conservative conference amid complaints from some activists that they have been subject to abuse from protesters as they entered the venue. The police say they have made 15 arrests and charged five people since Sunday. Chief Inspector John O'Hare said:
Quote MessageWe have to get the balance right between allowing legitimate protest and knowing when to step in to protect the safety of those people waiting to enter the conference. This is a real challenge and I know our officers have worked incredibly hard in difficult circumstances. Officers have been given clear direction to take positive action against any individual who goes beyond peaceful protest into unlawful actions."
Writing for politics.co.uk, external, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has said Theresa May's speech earlier on Tuesday was "yet another depressing escalation in rhetoric" from the Conservatives about the impact of immigration on the UK. He added:
Image source, AFPQuote MessageThe prime minister has already branded refugees escaping the horrors of civil war and traversing the Mediterranean as a ‘swarm of migrants’ but this new language from May is pushing the debate around immigration to dangerous new levels. The language, which conflates refugees and other migrants, and the lack of understanding about immigration, risks pitching communities against each other while demonising people who contribute so much to our country.
Laura Kuenssberg
BBC political editor
Image source, ReutersDavid Cameron told me he is simply delighted to have a such a strong team, suggesting it doesn't bother him that there is so much focus already on who will take over.
But it's another trap he set himself when he decided to be candid about his own plans to leave. Many people here in Manchester are now preoccupied with who comes next. For a government that's trying to deliver, it's perhaps a distraction it does not need.
Sky News
Image source, ReutersFormer Labour leader Tony Blair, who has beem making a speech at the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York on Tuesday, has been asked for his views on Jeremy Corbyn, during an interview with Sky News. Smiling, he says he understands why he's been asked the question but says he'll talk about it when he's back in the UK.
Here's a recap of the day's events:
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BBC Radio 4
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan also defends Theresa May's speech, telling BBC Radio 4's PM programme that the points she was making about immigration "are right" and that the British public expected the government to control the country's borders. She insists migration to the UK can be controlled if Britain remains a member of the European Union.
While charities and refugee campaigners aren't happy, Lord Green of Migration Watch welcomes Home Secretary Theresa May's speech today.
Quote MessageThis was a thoroughly courageous speech which tackled firmly and with authority the very serious issues we now face both over immigration and asylum. These issues are now the public's greatest concern and she was speaking frankly and decisively on their behalf."
Prime Minister David Cameron has told the BBC the government's policy on immigration "hasn't worked so far".
Speaking to the BBC's Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Cameron said immigration needs to be controlled in order to have a cohesive society. He shared people's "frustration" at the failure to cut net migration adding: "There's more we need to do."
It comes after Theresa May told the Conservative conference high migration made a "cohesive society" impossible.
Amnesty International's Allan Hogarth responds to Theresa May's speech, and says that her "claim that mass immigration has undermined public support for refugees flies in the face of reality".
Quote MessageHundreds of thousands of people in the UK have signed petitions, tens of thousands took to the streets and many more have written to their MPs to say that people fleeing war and persecution should be welcome in the UK. Meanwhile, the home secretary sets out to make it harder and harder for desperate people to claim the protection they need and the UK has a duty to offer."
More reaction to Theresa May's speech. Maurice Wren of the Refugee Council says she is "out of step with reality."
Quote MessageThe home secretary's clear intention to close Britain's borders to refugees fleeing for their lives is thoroughly chilling, as is her bitter attack on the fundamental principle enshrined in international law that people fleeing persecution should be able to claim asylum in Britain."