Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Asked why 10,000 extra police officers are needed, Diane Abbott, shadow home secretary, points to rising gun and knife crime in London.

She says the Police Federation is warning that austerity is causing issues and forces are struggling to cope. 

"We think more community policing is part of the answer."

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott says 10,000 new police officers promised if Labour comes to power would be paid for with money saved by reversing the cuts to capital gains tax.

Today programme presenter John Humphrys points out that this money already appeared to be lined up by Labour to restore arts funding, tackle rising class sizes and for welfare.

But Ms Abbott called that claim was "completely misleading".

She said the party was now spelling out what "specifically" the £2.7bn in savings could be spent on.

Capital gains tax is charged on the annual profit made from the sale of assets - such as a business, a second home or shares - if that total profit is greater than an individual's current CGT allowance.

A few political commentators are amused by a tweet posted last night by Guy Verhofstadt, the chief Brexit negotiator at the European Parliament. He seems to have used Theresa May's buzz phrase - "strong and stable" - but in the context of the rumours swirling about the prime minister's potentially expectations of Brexit. 

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Image source, Getty Images

Daniel Korski advised David Cameron during the negotiations with the EU which led up to the Brexit referendum.

He said the briefings from Brussels over the EC President Jean-Claude Juncker dinner with Theresa May was "the usual spin and spurn", and he was "not surprised we are seeing them now". 

He advised caution, saying we "just have one-sided spin".

And as Number 10 said it would not enter into a briefing war - see our earlier entry from Norman Smith - Mr Korski said that was wise.

"It will be difficult and will be tough but there will have to be some sort of compromise...  there are people in Europe who want us to have a good deal."

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

Responding to the rumours of May-Juncker tensions, a senior Conservative source says: "We are going to rise above all this and are not going to get into a briefing war." 

The source also vehemently rejected reports suggesting EU officials believed Theresa May is in "a different galaxy" when it comes to her expectations of Brexit talks. "We really, really do not recognise those reports," they said. 

They add that the dinner demonstrated the negotiations would be difficult and underlined that this election was a choice over who was best placed to deliver on Brexit- Mrs May or Jeremy Corbyn. 

In a speech later today Mrs May will again cite the need to stand up to the other EU countries. She will say: "Across the table from us sit 27 European member states who are united in their determination to do a deal that works for them."   

Image source, AFP

Watch BBC media editor Amol Rajan, a former editor of the Independent himself, consider what the former chancellor can expect in his new role as editor of London's Evening Standard.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Stephan Mayer, home affairs spokesperson for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's parliamentary Christian Democrat group, says he's convinced that the eventual outcome of Brexit will not be in the interests of the European Union or Germany.

But, he believes the consequences will be worse for the UK. 

Other campaigning highlights on Tuesday:

• At a campaign event in Edinburgh, SNP leader and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will urge Scotland’s young people to stand up to the Conservatives, and will claim that young adults today are poorer than their predecessors under the Tories.
• Lib Dem spokesman on Brexit and former party leader Nick Clegg will give a speech in Westminster, setting out his party's position on Europe
• Paul Nuttall and UKIP will be campaigning in Dudley, in the West Midlands  

BBC Breakfast

We were told by Downing Street that there wouldn't be a running commentary on Brexit but there certainly is one from Brussels. They have been giving their side of the story about EC President Jean-Claude Juncker and Theresa May's dinner, suggesting Downing Street and Brussels are a million miles apart. 

Elsehwere today:

• Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott will be talking about an extra 10,000 police officers if Labour wins power, point to falling numbers. She will say they will be paid for by reversing cuts in capital gains tax.

• Nick Clegg will be talking about Brexit, saying a "hard" one will be bad for hard-working families.

• And Theresa May will be in South West England, taking aim at the Lib Dems. 

Back to domestic politics, and Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson is to give Boris Johnson a taste of his own verbal medicine later, according to the Guardian, external.

He'll echo the language of the foreign secretary's attack on Jeremy Corbyn - you'll remember he called the Labour leader a "mugwump" last week. Mr Watson will call Mr Johnson a "caggie-handed cheese-headed fopdoodle" in a speech to union members in Blackpool.

Helpfully, the Guardian defines "fopdoodle" for us - as a fool or a simpleton.

But cheese-headed, confusingly, describes a screw with a raised cylindrical head.

Two completely different versions of a London dinner - when it comes to Brexit, spin is everywhere.

Good morning. We're back and will be bringing you all the news from the campaign trail and the latest developments on the big stories of the day.

There are early signs of frustration in Brussels over Britain's approach to the Brexit negotiations. 

A German newspaper has reported that talks got off to a bad start when the prime minister met the President of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker, at Downing Street last week. Theresa May has dismissed the accounts as "Brussels gossip".

Meanwhile, Labour has promised 10,000 more police officers in England and Wales if it wins the general election. It says it would pay for the policy by reversing cuts to capital gains tax. 

The Conservatives have described the pledge as "nonsensical", saying Labour has already promised to spend the same money on three previous occasions.

After Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker reportedly clashed over Brexit - claims dismissed as "Brussels gossip" by the UK PM - here are some of Tuesday's front pages:

Here's a selection of the day's main stories:

• A German report suggested last week's Downing Street dinner involving Theresa May and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker was "difficult". Mrs May however called it Brussels gossip
• Jeremy Corbyn and his housing spokesman John Healey have been out and about promising a consumer rights revolution for private tenants
• Tim Farron has revved up the Lib Dem battlebus and headed off to target seats in South West London. The party has also named their new candidate in their Bath target seat
• Sculptor Cornelia Parker has been chosen as this year's official election artist. She said "we live in scary but exhilarating times".
• And finally.... Remember Tony Blair? Well it was 20 years ago today that he became Labour Prime Minister. There's been plenty of comment on social media about that landmark -  and here's our look back to mark the occasion.

Thanks for joining us today - we'll be back bright and early (6am) on Tuesday to bring you all the day's election developments

Prime Minister Theresa May dismisses reports of how a dinner went between herself and EC President Jean-Claude Juncker as "Brussels gossip".

Image source, PA

A Labour Party statement says of the Rochdale MP, who is currently suspended by the party: