A Conservative councillor has been suspended from the party pending an investigation after allegedly posting offensive comments on social media.

Nick Harrington's Twitter page is no longer available, but tweets posted on it last night about the Eurovision Song Contest have been attacked as racist and sexist - and have been shared by thousands.

The tweets still circulating use obscene language and are abusive to the Irish, who are told that a "hard border" is coming, and about the EU.  

Andrew Mobbs, the Conservative leader of Warwick district council told the BBC:  

Read the story.

Labour’s shadow health Secretary has pledged £10bn to the NHS, in light of Friday's cyber-attack.

Jon Ashworth said: “What I am saying today is that a Labour government will put £10bn into the infrastructure needs of the NHS and a big priority of that will go to investing in cyber security and upgrading our IT.”

Speaking on ITV’s Peston on Sunday programme, Mr Ashworth said “the budgets for IT and infrastructure have been cut”.

The Scottish Conservatives have dropped their opposition to free prescriptions in Scotland, saying they recognise how popular they are.

England is the only part of the UK to charge for prescriptions now. When they were made free by the SNP in 2011, the Scottish Conservatives said the policy was a drain on public resources.

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Scottish Labour have criticised the SNP's "appalling" record on education after Nicola Sturgeon defended her government's record on the Andrew Marr Show earlier.

Scotland's first minister told Marr she was "very open that that's not good enough" after a Scottish survey of literacy and numeracy showed fewer than half of Scotland's 13 and 14-year-olds were able to write well, while the writing performance of eight and 12-year-olds has also fallen.

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said Ms Sturgeon had been "faced with the reality of her own appalling record on education" in a "bruising" interview.

Image source, Getty Images

Graduates in technical and engineering subjects will be given £10,000 to join the armed forces, under plans unveiled by the Liberal Democrats to tackle recruitment issues. 

The Lib Dems also pledged to keep defence spending at the Nato benchmark of 2% of national income.

Leader Tim Farron said he believed in a "credible" armed forces. 

The Conservatives said in their 2015 manifesto they would keep the Army at 82,000, but it is now nearly 78,500.

Read more here.

Labour also warns bosses they'll have to take a pay cut to win government contracts if Labour wins power.

Leanne Wood claims only Plaid can secure a successful EU exit and urged voters to back her party for a "good deal for Wales".

The general election has come at a "very inopportune" time for UKIP, its leader in the assembly says.

Reality Check

The claim: The Conservatives pledged to build up the size of the Army to 82,000 by 2020.

Reality Check verdict: The actual manifesto pledge was to not let the size of the Army fall below 82,000. It currently stands at nearly 78,500 so that pledge has been broken.

Read more.

Image source, PA

The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, has confirmed that as part of Labour's pay cap proposal, the chief executive of defence giant BAE would have to take a pay cut of £7m or lose future defence contracts.

Labour wants to cap the pay of executives in companies awarded any government contract, where the pay exceeds the ratio of 20:1 based on the company average.

BAE is one of the UK government's biggest contractors - it is building a new generation of Trident nuclear submarines and two new aircraft carriers - the biggest ever commission for the Royal Navy. Its chief executive, 

Chief Exeuctive Charles Woodburn has been lined up for a £7.5m pay deal.

Asked on 5 Live's Pienaar's Politics whether a Labour government would insist on a £7m pay cut or scrap future contracts, Mr McDonnell said: "Yes. Look, we want to get to equitable pay. 

"We want to address the grotesque inequalities that there are within our society, that actually do undermine in many ways the standing of those particular companies."

He also said there would be "a transitional period" in which the government would work with companies to reach an agreement. 

John Pienaar
Pienaar’s Politics

Image source, AFP/Getty

Lib Dem former minister Sir Vince Cable told John Pienaar he's not sure whether the Labour Party will survive after this election. 

He said: "It's clear that Jeremy Corbyn is not going to win, he's going to be trounced, the Labour Party's future is in great doubt and we have hung in there. 

"We have recovered and established a base. 

"Then there will be serious conversations about where British politics goes and how you create an alternative to the Conservatives which is centrist, centre left, pro business, practical offering an alternative to what is potentially a very damaging form of Conservatism."

BBC Sunday Politics

The Sun's political editor Tom Newton Dunn tells Sunday Politics he can't wait for Thursday, the day he believes the Conservative manifesto will be launched.

It will be the biggest day in politics for the next five years, he believes.

Theresa May is "going to lay out precisely what she wants to do for the next few years," he said.

Emily Thornberry came armed with some ammunition to throw at defence secretary Michael Fallon, in case of an attack on Jeremy Corbyn's past.

Her claim that he had attended a party in 2007 in Syria to celebrate President Assad's re-election (he admitted being in Syria but couldn't remember the party) has gone down well among the left-leaning Twitterati...

Image source, Getty Images

Labour says it would raise billions of pounds for public services with a new tax on financial transactions - known as a "Robin Hood" tax.

The party said extending the way shares were taxed and closing a loophole would bring in up to £26bn in the next Parliament, if it won the election.

It is also wants a tax avoidance crackdown and would require £1m+ earners to publish their tax records.

The Conservatives described Labour's plans as "a total shambles".

Read more here.

BBC Sunday Politics

On Labour's proposal to raise taxes on the top 5% of earners, Conservative candidate Mark Field says: "Londoners do not feel undertaxed - in key marginals like Ealing, Brentford and Westminster North, £80,000 is not a lot of money.

"I don't think they [people earning £80,000 or more] are rich.

"Anyone on £55,000 would think 'hang on, I'm two promotions away from being regarded as super-rich by the Labour Party."

Labour's David Lammy thinks "a small percentage at the top should pay a little bit more".

He says: "I can afford to pay a bit more towards our public services, I'm on over £80,000 - the vast majority of Londoners are nowhere near that."