Time for our post-lunch round-up:

• It's not a punishment but the account must be settled, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier tells the UK
• But Brexit Secretary David Davis has put his foot down, saying the UK will pay what's legally due "not just what the EU wants"
• The tussle over tax get heated. Tories call Labour's spending plans a £45bn "bombshell" for workers and families. Labour says its opponent's calculations are "absolute lies"
• A tough run-in for Lib Dem Tim Farron when a Leave voter tells him, in no uncertain terms, to stop saying people like him "didn't know what they were voting for"
• In half an hour, Theresa May is off to see the Queen to formally mark the dissolution of Parliament
• Need any light jobs done around the home or garden? Ed Miliband, former Labour leader, is offering his lawn-mowing services around South Yorkshire
• And one for your diary - 18 May, leaders' TV debate on ITV. Just don't expect to see Jeremy Corbyn or Theresa May take part

Image source, PA

Just a heads up on what's coming shortly. Theresa May will be off to see the Queen at Buckingham Palace to formally mark the dissolution of Parliament for the general election. 

We're expecting her to leave Downing Street in about half an hour - and when she gets back, to make a short address.

Plaid Cymru will use the general election to defend Wales from the "cruel and reckless actions of the Tories", its leader Leanne Wood says.

She believes it is vital to send "the maximum number" of Plaid Cymru MPs to Westminster to provide a strong voice for Wales and to protect its economy and communities in the face of Brexit.

There are "quite a few" parliamentary seats in Wales where Labour, in particular, are vulnerable, she says, adding she's confident her party would do better than UKIP.

The EU says the UK must "settle its accounts" - but ministers say they won't pay 100bn euros.

Why are elections across the UK always held on Thursdays?

The World at One
BBC Radio 4

Image source, Getty Images

Negotiations have got off to a tough start, but former chancellor and Eurosceptic Lord Lawson puts it down to the EU being "scared stiff, particularly over money".

He says the only significant contributors to the EU budget are Germany and the UK, and when the latter leaves, there will be "a huge improvement in the UK budget and a hole in the EU budget".   

Lord Lawson, chancellor from 1983 to 1989, agrees with Theresa May that no deal is better than a bad deal, adding: "I regret it looks as though we will have to settle for no deal."

He believes the UK should offer the EU a "very good deal - a free trade deal with no strings attached in both our interests". 

"For political reasons, they may refuse it, in which case we wait patiently and we are out," he says.  

We've learned that ITV plans to hold its election debate on Thursday 18 May. Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have both ruled themselves out, so who does that leave? 

Well, the list at the moment looks like UKIP's Paul Nuttall, Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, the SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, Plaid Cymru's Leanne Wood and the Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas.

Can we expect an empty chair - or even a handbag or tub of lard - in the place of those missing?

The World at One
BBC Radio 4

Image source, Labour Party

Barry Gardiner, shadow trade secretary, opens his interview by pointing out how the government had said it was all going to be so easy and the EU needed a trade deal as much as the UK did.

But, now we are into the detail of it, that's no longer the case, he says.

Mr Gardiner agrees with Brexit Secretary David Davis that the UK will always honour its obligations. 

"We do not seek to wriggle out of the things we have committed to," he says.

The government needs to "establish principles around the divorce settlement", he says, in particular the role the European Court of Justice would play.

The World at One
BBC Radio 4

Alex Barker, the Financial Times journalist who reported today that the cost of the UK leaving the EU could be as much as €100bn,, external tells The World at One the figure was not reached by doing a simple sum.

There's a huge amount of politics involved, and a huge number of variables, he says.

Michel Barnier - the EU's chief Brexit negotiator - wants to reach a global settlement, which could then be "sliced and diced in all sorts of ways" - how it's paid, when it's paid etc, he explains.

So what's in the bill? 

The least controversial liabilities are what the UK owes the EU, then they will look at promises made, for example to Poland - that could mean money should be paid after Brexit - and then there are the annual running costs of the EU in 2019 and 2020, Barker adds.

Reality Check

Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley has been at a school in South London talking about air pollution.

The party is calling for investment in cycling, electric vehicles and public transport as well as an expanded Clean Air Zone network and a diesel vehicle scrappage scheme.

Mr Bartley quoted the figure of 40,000 early deaths being linked to air pollution in the UK.

It comes from extensive research over decades in the US, but it's important to remember that it's a statistical construct not a count of actual deaths.  

You can read the full Reality Check on 40,000 early deaths here.

You'll probably have seen Tim Farron's clash with an angry voter by now - if not, have a look here. Well, the Lib Dem leader has tweeted about it., external As well as wishing his critic a happy birthday, Mr Farron uses the incident as an opportunity for a dig at the prime minister.

Image source, Twitter

Image source, Reuters

Greece’s former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis says the president of the European Commission is an “insignificant” figure and having him as an ally in discussions can actually be counter-productive.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Yanis Varoufakis said Jean-Claude Juncker, above, was “not particularly competent” and German Chancellor Angela Merkel merely "tolerates him".

UKIP has already set out six tests for the Brexit deal, only one of which is a "money test".

“There must be no final settlement payment to the EU, and no ongoing payments to the EU budget after we have left," Patrick O'Flynn continues. 

"We must also reclaim our share of financial assets from entities such as the European Investment Bank, in which it is estimated that some £9bn of UK money is vested.”

Mr O’Flynn says some critics of Brexit are in the grip of "hysteria" that it will result in "economic meltdown", which he describes as the "Millennium bug for posh people".

Image source, Getty Images

UKIP’s urged the government to refuse to pay any "divorce bill" resulting from the Brexit negotiations.

The party’s economic affairs spokesman Patrick O’Flynn said the UK should simply walk away and accept World Trade Organisation terms instead.

However he refused to confirm that paying nothing should be a "red line" in Britain’s negotiations, saying only that “if the UK is paying a substantial divorce bill we won’t be happy”.