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London Mayor Boris Johnson has commented on the remarks by US presidential hopeful Donald Trump, who has said there are parts of London where police are afraid to go and who has also called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States following a mass shooting in San Bernadino.

Mr Johnson said his comments were "ill-informed" and "complete and utter nonsense", adding that "the only reason I wouldn't go to some parts of New York is the real risk of meeting Donald Trump".

About 5,000 households and businesses forced out of their properties by flooding in Cumbria and Lancashire are to be given relief from council tax and business rates, the government's Cobra emergency committee has agreed.

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Politicians have been thinking about it for at least 25 years and the government started the process of making a decision on airports expansion over three years ago - but it now looks like they need a bit more time.

Ministers said they would make a final decision before the end of the year but it now seems it could be delayed for another six months.

Conservative MPs Tania Mathias, who is against expansion at Heathrow and Royston Smith, who is in favour, joined Jo Coburn to discuss the issue. 

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Iain Duncan Smith responds to comments by the Office of Budget Responsibility's Sir Stephen Nickell that migrant benefit curbs will not have much impact on UK immigration.

The work and pensions secretary was speaking to presenter Mark Mardell.

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Universal Credit could make 2.6 million working families worse off, according to a report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

But work and pensions minister Justin Tomlinson denied the claim and said it would may work pay.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Owen Smith told Jo Coburn his party would reverse Universal Credit cuts.

Labour's shadow foreign secretary, Hilary Benn, has criticised the government for opposing lowering the vote age in the upcoming EU referendum.

Commenting on today's vote, which saw the move rejected by 50 votes, he said:

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Zac Goldsmith, Conservative candidate for London mayor, has confirmed he will resign as an MP if the government gives the go ahead to a third runway at Heathrow.

Mr Goldsmith said it would be "an act of betrayal" for David Cameron to allow Heathrow to expand.

The move means Mr Cameron could face an awkward by-election if the government gives the go-ahead to a Heathrow third runway. A decision is expected in the next few days.

Mr Goldsmith said he also regretted his promise to resign as an MP if Heathrow gets the go ahead. He said - if elected - he would not resign as London mayor.

The Tory MP was also scathing about Donald Trump who he described as "an utterly repellant figure... an appalling creature... one of the most malignant figures in politics". 

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Opposition parties have called for a full parliamentary inquiry into the closure of the Forth Road Bridge.

Labour's Alex Rowley and the Conservative's Murdo Fraser said key questions, including about maintenance of the structure, needed answering.

Their plea came as Transport Minister Derek Mackay addressed MSPs about the closure which happened last Friday.

He told Holyrood that the fault was not predicted and maintenance programmes had not been curtailed.

More on that story here.

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

Labour peers say they still hope to force the government to allow 16 and 17-year-olds a vote in the EU referendum.

The move comes after MPs this afternoon defeated plans by the House of Lords to lower the voting age.

Labour peers say they hope to table a fresh motion on the voting age which does not fall foul of parliamentary rules restricting the ability of the House of Lords to block financial measures. 

Lowering the voting age would cost £6m and has therefore been judged a financial measure.

Labour peers say they hope to table a new motion for debate on Monday which could re-instate moves to lower the voting age.

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David Cameron's deputy chief of staff has also formally taken her seat in the House of Lords.

Baroness Fall, who has worked for the Conservative Party since the early 1990s, joins the Conservative benches.

Labour peer Baroness Primarolo is being introduced to the House of Lords.

She was MP for Bristol South from 1987 to 2015, and served as a Treasury minister and a minister in the Department for Children, Schools and Families. 

She also served as one of the deputy Speakers in the Commons, from 2010 to 2015.

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The Work and Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, has insisted he and David Cameron are "as one" on the Conservatives' election pledge to limit in-work benefits for EU migrants. There have been suggestions that some in Downing Street want to water it down as part of renegotiation with the EU. But Mr Duncan Smith said he was confident Mr Cameron would reach a deal to address benefits tourism:

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Giving evidence to the Treasury Committee earlier, the OBR's Sir Stephen Nickell told MPs he didn't think the government's plans to restrict EU migrants' access to benefits for four years would have much of an impact on immigration levels.

Treasury Committee chairman Andrew Tryie is to write to Sir Stephen to expand on his remarks. In a short statement he said: