The Daily Telegraph

"Theresa May vows to protect troops from 'legal witch hunt' by opting out of European human rights rules," says the Telegraph in a supportive article, external, which also looks ahead to the defence secretary's speech to conference later.

The paper says Mrs May's and Michael Fallon's intervention "is a major victory for soldiers, MPs and senior military figures who have fought against the hounding of troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan over allegations that date back as long ago as 2003".

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Theresa May has vowed "to be ambitious" during Brexit negotiations with the European Union.

The prime minister told Today presenter Nick Robinson the UK won't be a "supplicant to the EU", rather it's about "reciprocity".

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index of the UK's biggest firms has broken through the 7,000 barrier. 

It's shot up 43 points at the opening bell to 7,026 points after the pound fell to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985.

The FTSE 100 is full of firms with large overseas businesses which benefit from a weaker pound.

It last finished above 7,000 points in May 2015.

Image source, Bloomberg

The pound has taken another turn for the worse. It has fallen as low as $1.2780.

That's below the low-point it hit immediately after the result of the EU referendum and the lowest level against the dollar since 1985.

Day three in Birmingham has two themes - "celebrating the union", with speeches from the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland secretaries. That gets under way at 10:30. Then at 11:00 it's "a society that works for everyone", featuring Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, Justice Secretary Liz Truss and Home Secretary Amber Rudd.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

The number of medical school places will increase by 25% in 2018 under plans to make England "self-sufficient" in training doctors.

Susan Acott, chief executive of the Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, says more training is desirable but the UK will face practical difficulties when trying to attract doctors to practice at home.

Esther Webber
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Ahead of Liz Truss' first speech to party conference as justice secretary, questions about her qualifications for the job rumble on. 

In July, legal heavyweights on the Conservative and Labour benches in the Lords expressed concern about her lack of legal background. 

Now Conservative and constitutional historian Lord Lexden has written to the Cabinet Office, external asking to what extent the new Lord Chancellor meets the criteria for appointment.

Government spokesperson Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen responds: "The Prime Minister may take into account experience as a Minister of the Crown and as a member of either House of Parliament when deciding whether a person is qualified by experience to be Lord Chancellor."

She also referred him to a speech by the Lord Chief Justice, external at the swearing in of the Lord Chancellor with background on her experience.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

The government is to unveil a legal measure it says will protect UK troops from "vexatious" legal claims, meaning parts of the European Convention on Human Rights could be suspended in future conflicts.

Conservative MP and former British army officer Tom Tugendhat explains to Nick Robinson why he agrees with the law change.

The vice-chairwoman of the Labour left-wing grassroots group Momentum has been sacked from the role amid a row over comments she made about anti-Semitism.

The organisation said it viewed Jackie Walker's behaviour as "irresponsible".

It said remarks on Holocaust Memorial Day and Jewish school security at a party training event were "ill-judged and offensive" but overall she did not appear to be anti-Semitic.

Ms Walker, who is Jewish herself, has said she is not an anti-Semite.

Read more

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Image source, PA

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is writing a new prescription for the NHS in England today. More doctors will be trained here and those that are will have to stay here for four years. 

The aim is to reduce the dependence of the health service on foreign doctors. What does the British Medical Association make of that?

BMA chairman Dr Mark Porter says that if the NHS "only has home-trained doctors", that would be bad for patient care. Healthcare "thrives" on UK doctors being able to deliver care overseas and doctors from other countries bringing their skills here, he argues.

He is also concerned about the requirement that doctors stay in the UK for four years, saying the NHS should be a service doctors want to work in, rather than being "forced" to work.

Dr Porter thinks the announcement plays more "to a Tory party conference than the real needs of patients".

Image source, PA

A look now at some of the other poltical stories around today.

The government is to unveil a legal measure it says will protect UK troops from "vexatious" legal claims.

The change in policy, to be announced at the Conservative conference, would mean parts of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) could be suspended during future conflicts.

Much of the litigation faced by the Ministry of Defence comes from claims under the ECHR, the government says.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the legal system had been "abused"

Read more

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Reflecting on the Today interview, BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg says Theresa May is a "very determined politician" - and determined "not to give very much away" at the moment, particularly on Brexit.

One of the reasons for that, Laura adds, is that cabinet ministers do not yet agree on exactly what it is that they want to achieve in the negotiations with the EU.

What we've seen so far from Mrs May, says Laura, is that she's prepared to do things that may be "controversial" or "unpopular" in some quarters - such as grammar school expansion - and to shift the focus of the Tory government that she was part of for six years.

Image source, Thinkstock

Has the time come for the government to break pledges made to pensioners, asks Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute of Fiscal Studies.

What should government do when things turn out to be rather different from what was expected? That's often a question politicians have to deal with when things go wrong. But what about when things go too well?

That might seem like an odd question, but when things go well for one group of people it can often be at the expense of another group. In part, at least, that is what has happened for the so-called baby boom generation - those born between the mid-1940s and mid-1960s.

Read more.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

One final question to the prime minister: what makes her angry?

"Injustice," she says. "Child sexual abuse, modern slavery, when we see the powerful abusing their position. That's what makes me angry."

Can we expect to hear more of that in her leader's speech to conference tomorrow? "You will."

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Questioned over immigration, the prime minister tells Today the government will be working to bring net migration down to "sustainable levels" which, she says, "we think is at the tens of thousands".

But she cautions that there's no single solution to cutting immigration, and that action is needed across the board, for example in closing "loopholes".

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

The prime minister says the attitude of businesses that she's been speaking to has been "positive" about the future. She says they acknowledge that Brexit won't be "plain sailing" and there'll be "bumps in the road" but they are saying "let's come together and make sure we grasp the opportunities that are available".

Mrs May says the way the government approaches Brexit is "very important".

When we come out of the EU we'll be an independent sovereign country," she says. "I think it's not about the UK in some sense being a supplicant to the EU it's about the reciprocity here," she adds, saying that a good trade deal will benefit both countries. 

Speaking to Sky News, Theresa May discussed her party's proposal to suspend parts of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) during future conflicts to protect UK troops from "vexatious" legal claims.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

On to Brexit, and Theresa May is pressed over her support for staying in the EU. She acknowledges she backed the Remain campaign but she says she had never said the sky would fall in if the country exited the bloc.

"That is in the past," she says, adding that Britain has voted to leave the EU and the government will deliver that.

She says she wants the "right deal" for the UK, including building new trading relationships across the globe.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Theresa May says she wants to lead a government that helps people who are struggling.

"We are going to make a number of changes which I believe will really help ordinary working class families," she says, such as people who are worried about the quality of education for children.

She says the party will talk about accelerating the construction of new homes.

Pressed over plans to expand grammar schools and selection by academic ability in England, she says it's about "opening up" the school system.

She also argues that selection already exists in the system - by "house price" and adds: "I think we want to ensure that children get the education that is right for them."