The Commons Intelligence and Security Committee has set out its upcoming work priorities. It will review the government's draft Investigatory Powers Bill on surveillance powers and the UK drone strike in Syria which killed two British Islamic State jihadists.

In addition, committee chairman Dominic Grieve, a former Attorney General, said:

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Women should make up a third of of directors in the boardroom by 2020, according to a government-commissioned report, external. Former trade minister Lord Davies says UK top companies have reached a "major milestone" in increasing the number of women on boards, but more needs to be done.

Responding to his recommendations, CBI Interim Chief Policy Director Matthew Fell, said the voluntary approach was working and it was "right" to set business "a stretching new voluntary target".

He said business must "keep up the momentum" but argued that government could do more, by offering more free childcare, flexible working and "tackling occupational stereotypes in schools".

Refugees in the UK will have their protected status withdrawn if their home countries are assessed as being safe.

The new rules, announced in a written ministerial statement by immigration minister James Brokenshire, confirm measures set out by Home Secretary Theresa May in her Conservative Party conference speech last month.

Also under the government's plans, refugee status would be stripped from extremists who threatened national security and anyone who obtained protection "by deception" would lose their rights.

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Former Conservative peer Lord Hanningfield has appeared in court charged with false accounting in relation to parliamentary expenses claims.

He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London listed under his common name of Paul White.

He was charged with false accounting in September in connection with claims he submitted for daily allowance at the House of Lords. Prosecutor Zoe Martin said the total amount involved was around £3,300.

Hanningfield's lawyer Daniel Godden indicated the peer would enter a plea of not guilty to the charge, something Lord Hanningfield reiterated from the dock.

He was released on unconditional bail and will appear at Southwark Crown Court on 12 November.

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The number of asylum seekers being sent to one street in "one tiny village" near Heathrow is too much for it to cope with, local Labour MP and shadow chancellor John McDonnell has said.

Residents in Longford, Hillingdon, have recently been "overwhelmed" by asylum seekers,Mr McDonnell said.

Pub-landlord Rana Saif, a migrant himself from Pakistan, said the swell in migrants had deterred customers and he was leaving the village.

The Home Office said it had tried to address residents' concerns.

Read more.

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Chancellor George Osborne met Brazilian Finance Minister Joaquim Levy for the first "UK-Brazil Economic and Financial Dialogue" in London.

The Treasury says financial agreements reached were mainly around infrastructure, financial services and collaboration to deliver Rio 2016.

They included UK Export Finance announcing financing of £80m to the Brazilian Ministry of Sport; this will be used to pay British companies who share their expertise from London 2012 to help with the Rio Olympic Games. 

A number of commercial contracts were also announced in the transport, maintenance and telecommunications sector. The UK is currently the fourth largest investor in Brazil.

Northern Ireland's parties need to reach a deal in the next 10 days or "there will be no agreement", First Minister Peter Robinson has said.

The five biggest parties have been in negotiations for almost six weeks about the budget, welfare reform as well as past and present paramilitary activity.

"We are coming to a vital stage, the endgame," said the DUP leader.

"It is my view that if we can't reach agreement then the process itself will be terminated."

More here.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said a future Labour government would "intervene" to save the steel industry.

He was speaking on a visit to Tata Steel in Scunthorpe following the recent announcement of almost 1,000 job losses at the plant.

Mr Corbyn said the government was doing nothing about "job loss after job loss".

The industry blames cheap Chinese imports for a collapse in steel prices.

More here.

Speaking in Reykjavik the prime minister was asked if the UK would be better inside or outside of the EU, Mr Cameron said:

Prime Minister David Cameron has said that he is "immensely frustrated by the slowness and amount of time" the Chilcot Inquiry has taken.

"I share the frustrations of many across our country. We should be learning the lessons from what happened and it shouldn't be taking this long."

Speaking at a summit in Iceland Mr Cameron said "as soon as the report arrives on my desk I will move as quickly as I possibly can to publish it."

He said he was was frustrated "on behalf of the mums and dads who lost loved ones and who want to know what happened and why it happened and make sure lessons are learned."

He said the Government had no control over the timing of publication because it is an "independent inquiry", but criticised the last Labour government for not starting it sooner. He said if Labour had launched it when his party had first called for it then "this inquiry...would have been done and dusted by now".