Summary

  • The UK faces an extra £2.4bn bill from Brussels if it remains part of the EU, Boris Johnson says

  • David Cameron warns an EU exit could push up mortgage rates

  • Leave campaigners say the UK could be pushed into future eurozone bailouts if it stays in the EU

  • Former PM Sir John Major attacks the "squalid" and "deceitful" campaign to get the UK out of the EU

Live Reporting

Aiden James and Jackie Storer

  1. What happens if we left the EU and then rejoined?

    Listeners have a lot of questions about the European Union and the UK's referendum on whether to leave or remain.

    PM asked the BBC's Europe correspondent Chris Morris and Assistant Political Editor Norman Smith to answer a selection.

    Norman Smith answers Brian Case's question: If the UK voted to leave the EU and then 10 years down the road there was another referendum, would we then have to abide by the rule of joining the single currency?

    (Photo: Euro sign in Frankfurt. Credit: Getty Images)

  2. Are EU bureaucrats like UK civil servants?

    Listeners have a lot of questions about the European Union and the UK's referendum on whether to leave or remain.

    PM asked the BBC's Europe correspondent Chris Morris and Assistant Political Editor Norman Smith to answer a selection.

    Norman Smith answers Linda Rossle's question: We hear about unelected bureaucrats making decisions in the EU. Please could you explain how the role of these EU bureaucrats compares with that of our civil servants, who are also unelected?

    (Photo: The European Commission building in Brussels. Credit: Getty Images)

  3. How would we manage without EU migrant workers?

    Listeners have a lot of questions about the European Union and the UK's referendum on whether to leave or remain.

    PM asked the BBC's Europe correspondent Chris Morris and Assistant Political Editor Norman Smith to answer a selection.

    Norman Smith answers Bernard Godfrey question: How would we manage without all the migrant workers from the EU?

    (Photo: Nurses at work. Credit: Science Photo Library)

  4. If we leave, can we insist on more buying British?

    The public have a lot of questions about the European Union and the UK's referendum on whether to leave or remain.

    PM asked the BBC's Europe correspondent Chris Morris and Assistant Political Editor Norman Smith to answer a selection.

    Norman Smith answered Andy Bryce's question: If we did leave the EU, would we be able to insist more on 'buy British' and stop the mandatory European tenders that allow massive French, Spanish and other companies to come in and provide our public services and utilities?

    (Photo: Workers at Bombardier in Derby. Credit: Getty Images)

  5. Reports of a gorilla attack being investigated

    person in gorilla suitpool/bbc

    A spokesman for the Vote Leave campaign says the police are looking into reports that someone dressed in a gorilla suit was punched at a rally attended by Boris Johnson in Winchester earlier.

    The spokesman said:

    Police are looking into this incident. If it happened, it happened after Boris Johnson had left the area. We do not condone any violence. These people turned up at the event intent on causing disruption.”

  6. What will happen to pensioners living in the EU?

    Listeners have a lot of questions about the European Union and the UK's referendum on whether to leave or remain.

    PM asked the BBC's Europe correspondent Chris Morris and Assistant Political Editor Norman Smith to answer a selection.

    Chris Morris answers Margaret Schooling's question: I'd like to know what experts think will happen to UK pensioners living in other parts of the EU. Will their pensions be frozen or otherwise compromise?

    (Photo: Elderly women having lunch on a park bench Credit: BBC)

  7. Do Scots really feel more positive about the EU?

    Is it really the case people in Scotland feel far more positive about the EU then others in the rest of the UK? I've been looking at the latest polls and speaking to voters north of the border to find out.

    Read More

  8. EU vote: What the European papers say

    Quotes from the European press on Britain's EU referendum.

    Read More

  9. Will our E111 cards still be valid?

    Listeners have a lot of questions about the European Union and the UK's referendum on whether to leave or remain.

    PM asked the BBC's Europe correspondent Chris Morris and Assistant Political Editor Norman Smith to answer a selection.

    Chris Morris answered John Cobbett's question: If the decision of the referendum in June is to leave the EU, will our E111 cards still be valid?

    (Image: European health insurance card Credit: BBC)

  10. SNP MP: Mature debate needed on migration

    BBC News Channel

    Stuart McDonald from the SNP (which is campaigning for Britain to remain in the EU) has called for a "mature and sensible debate" on the issue of migration.

    The Office for National Statistics reported today that net migration to the UK rose to 333,000 in 2015 - the second highest figure on record.

    Mr McDonald said:

    The statistics show why the government is absolutely wrong to be pursuing what is essentially a bogus net migration target - but equally I think the Brexit campaign have been cynical as well, by trying to suggest that leaving the EU is some sort of magic bullet, which can address concerns over migration."

  11. Here's a round-up of political stories from today...

    So what's been making the news this Thursday?

    • News that net migration to the UK rose to 333,000 in 2015 - the second highest figure on record - has MPs from both sides of the EU referendum debate hot under the collar
    • Boris Johnson faces strong personal attacks from the president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and his top official - prompting the former London mayor to dismiss the pair as "unelected bureaucrats"
    • Ryanair is accused of breaking electoral law in its campaign for the UK to stay in the EU
    • Leave campaigners claim "foolish" EU procurement rules have cost UK taxpayers £1.6bn a year, which could be better spent on new hospitals and flood defences
    • And in non EU news, the government is warned that a plan to cut pension benefits to help save Tata Steel's UK operations could take ministers down a "dangerous path".

  12. Boris Johnson's grasp on EU reality questioned

    Boris JohnsonPA

    The president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and his top official have made a strong personal attack on Boris Johnson.

    Mr Juncker questioned whether the former London mayor's depiction of the EU is "in line with reality".

    His chief of staff Martin Selmeyr said the idea of Mr Johnson becoming prime minister was a "horror scenario".

    Mr Johnson said his pro-Leave views are in line with reality and that the EU is turning into a federal superstate.

    What the British people want to hear is slightly less from international observers and more about the arguments."

    Read more

  13. How would leaving the EU affect UK trade?

    Leave campaigners suggest the UK can easily negotiate a free trade agreement with the EU and be free to negotiate with other emerging economies in the Far East and Latin America.

    Those arguing to Remain, however, suggest that being in the EU gives us preferential access to a market of 500m people. One of those is Miriam Gonzalez Durantez - the wife of former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and a lawyer who specialises in free trade negotiations.

    She debates UK trade with Leave campaigner Iain Duncan Smith.

  14. Nigel Farage pledges UKIP support to Boris Johnson if he becomes PM

    Nigel FaragePA

    Nigel Farage has pledged to offer up the services of all UKIP MEPs to support Boris Johnson if he becomes prime minister.

    Speaking as he greeted people on the streets of Newcastle upon Tyne, the UKIP leader said if David Cameron resigned after a referendum defeat, then he would want a Brexit supporter to take his place.

    I'd love to see a Brexit prime minister - and if Boris was in that position I'd say to him: 'I lead the biggest group of British MEPs in Brussels, what can we do to help?'"

  15. Asylum claims highest for a decade

    Asylum claims in the UK rose by more than a third in the year to March - reaching the highest annual level for more than a decade. 

    There were 34,687 applications from main applicants.  

    The highest number of applications were from nationals of Iran (4,305), followed by Eritrea (3,321), Iraq (2,805), Sudan (2,769), Pakistan (2,669) and Syria (2,539). 

    Including dependants, the number of asylum applications increased by 30% to 41,563 in the year ending March 2016. 

    The Home Office figures also show rising numbers of lone children are seeking refuge in the UK. There were 3,206 asylum applications from unaccompanied children over the period - a rise of 57% compared with the year ending March 2015.

  16. Peter Lilley: Japan trade deal is 'political spin'

    Conservative former trade secretary Peter Lilley has dismissed claims of a "political agreement" on an EU-Japanese trade deal as "political spin" and "warm words". 

    Arguing that "the EU is terrible at negotiating free trade deals", he said:

    With 28 countries - many of whom are deeply protectionist – each wielding a veto, and a commission insisting on inserting political terms into trade deals, the EU’s record on trade deals is not going to suddenly improve if we vote In. If we vote leave we can take back control of negotiations, ensuring we secure really worthwhile deals to access fast growing protected markets like China, India and Brazil which the EU has ignored."

  17. Net migration to UK rises to 333,000

    Net migration to the UK rises to the second highest level on record, leading Boris Johnson to call his party's pledge to cut it "cynical".

    Read More

  18. It's EU referendum debate Bingo

    As a special treat for the EU referendum debates, the Reality Check team brings you EU claim Bingo.

    Read More

  19. Japan - EU trade deal a step closer

    The EU and Japan have reached a political agreement on the completion of long-running negotiations for a trade deal, which Downing Street says could be worth £5 billion a year to the UK economy. 

    The movement came in talks at the G7 summit in Japan, attended by David Cameron.

    Key elements of the deal - including tariffs on agricultural exports - must be completed over the summer if it is to be signed by the end of the year. 

    Downing Street says a successful deal would mean the end of most trade tariffs and  a boost to imports and exports in areas such as agriculture, car manufacturing and clothing.

  20. Cameron's former adviser praises Trump

    Steve Hiltonbbc

    Turning attention to across the Pond... Steve Hilton, a former senior adviser to David Cameron, has been praising the US presidential candidate Donald Trump. 

    During a webchat on the Mumsnet website, he said the businessman was “doing something incredibly useful and refreshing”.

    Asked who he would pick to win the race for the Whitehouse, he said it was a “tough choice” but that Donald Trump had shone a light on “the failures of the technocratic agenda and corrupt political system that has been built up over the years by both parties in the US.”

    He added: 

    I like his attitude of shaking things up but I don't see a set of concrete plans that would give me any confidence that real change along the lines I would want to see, would actually happen.”

    Mr Hilton thinks Britain should leave the EU.  

    More here.