House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's chief whip Nick Brown tells MPs that it is a "sad day for us" and for him personally as he is friends with Mr Vaz.

"We accept the report, the findings and the recommendations in full," he says.

After Jeremy Corby pledges to make the richest in society pay a fair share of tax, Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle goes one step further.

House of Commons
Parliament

Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg has moved the motion which endorses the Commons standards committee's recommendation to suspend Labour MP Keith Vaz for six months.

"It is always regrettable when a motion such as this is before the House," Mr Rees-Mogg says.

MPs are now debating the motion.

The committee's report, released on Monday, says Mr Vaz "disregarded" the law by "expressing a willingness" to help buy cocaine for male prostitutes.

It says there is "compelling evidence" he offered to pay for a class A drug and had paid-for sex in August 2016.

It is recommending he be suspended for six months after he was "evasive and unhelpful" during the investigation.

Mr Vaz did not comment on his future but said he was receiving treatment for a serious mental health condition.

A statement later issued by his office said Mr Vaz had cooperated at all stages of the inquiry and he had been admitted to hospital on Monday.

Read more on the report here

Vicki Young
Chief Political Correspondent

Labour are a long way behind the Conservatives in terms of seats, they would need more than 60 gains. The question is: where are they going to get them?

But lots of Labour supporters are saying "Labour was written off last time round, they were behind in the polls, everyone said Jeremy Corbyn was incredibly popular but he managed to turn it round during the campaign".

He didn't win, but he did far better than most people were predicting.

Can he do that again?

I think what's clear from today is that he does relish being out and about, making those speeches and rallying the troops.

He looks so much more comfortable than he does in the House of Commons

The prime minister visited Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge today.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Getty Images

Submit your questions on the launch of Labour's election campaign and it could be answered by a BBC News journalist.

Ask your questions here.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Boris Johnson's Halloween deadline for the UK to leave the EU is passing. But the latest deferment of a Brexit decision is being regarded with no less dread by commentators around Europe.

Few think the outcome of the upcoming winter general election can be predicted and several say Mr Johnson should not take victory for granted.

The long Brexit has certainly taken a toll on the image of the UK in Europe.

Some of the most expressive comments on it over the past year have cast it as farce and tragi-comedy. But the humour and mockery are also accompanied by utterances of fatigue and exasperation.

You can read a summary of the European papers here.

BBC Radio 5 Live

Labour’s Teresa Pearce says she is standing down as an MP after nine years as the abuse she has received means she can’t achieve what she wants in the job.

She says: “I wanted to be someone who’s very open and accessible but now I can’t go anywhere by myself, I carry a personal alarm.”

Conservative MP Caroline Nokes will be fighting the next election but admits she is worried about the atmosphere in politics.

The MP for Romsey and Southampton North, says: “I think it might get really very toxic. I think it’s going to be a very tough election."

She says when she’s out campaigning it will be done with an “air of wariness and looking over your shoulder”.

Bob Cooper
Political reporter, BBC Cumbria

The men of Workington have found themselves in a spotlight of sorts - or a flurry of political headlines at least - after a think tank marked them out as a key election target.

Workington Man is 2019's Worcester Woman. But who is he? And what do men in Workington - a former mining town on the Cumbrian coast - think of the stereotype?

According to Onward - the right-of centre-think tank that gave birth to the creation - Workington Man is older, white and Northern.

The imagined poster boy for "middle England" likes rugby league and Labour. He voted for Brexit and feels the country is moving away from his views.

The BBC spoke to a number of men from Workington to see what they thought about the election.

Image source, Getty Images

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage has played down reports his party is considering withdrawing candidates in hundreds of constituencies in order to concentrate resources on a small number of Labour-held seats.

Mr Farage told the PA news agency: "This is idle speculation. I have not spoken to anyone of any seniority in the party (about this)."

Boris Johnson says the abuse of MPs is "absolutely deplorable" and there should be "zero tolerance" of such behaviour.

It comes after a number of Remain-supporting Conservative MPs have announced they will not stand in the next election, with some citing the increasing abuse they receive as part of their job as a factor in their decision

"We should defend and protect public servants whoever they are, whether they are politicians or not," the prime minister adds.

Reality Check

Jeremy Corbyn made two healthcare pledges in today's speech - both of which Labour has mentioned before.

He said Labour would bring England in line with the rest of the UK by introducing free prescriptions for everyone. At the moment some people in England (who are eligible for certain benefits, under 16 or over 60) get free prescriptions, but everyone else pays £9 per item.

Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland all scrapped prescription charges between 2007 and 2011.

In 2017-18, NHS England brought in £575m from prescription charges but Labour acknowledged the cost of this policy might be more like £750m if more people take up prescriptions as a result.

Labour also called for free personal care for over-65s in England, something that is already in place in Scotland, and for over-75s in Northern Ireland.

According to the King’s Fund, external, this would cost about £6bn extra a year.

The question - for all parties - is how they will pay for this or any other major changes to social care.

BBC Politics Live
BBC2's lunchtime political programme

Conservative MP Vicky Ford says she is concerned that UK election law is "not necessarily fit for purpose" in a digital age.

Twitter has announced it will an all political advertising worldwide, but social media rival Facebook recently ruled out a ban on political ads.

Ms Ford, who sits on the government's Technology Select Committee, says: "One of my big concerns is the harassment and abuse and threats towards women politicians.

"We must all call this out. We must support each other."

Read more here about who regulates digital political ads in the UK

Today is John Bercow's last day as Speaker of the House of Commons.

Boris Johnson says a vote for his party will mean the UK can leave the EU by January next year.

“If you vote for us and we get our programme through... then we can be out at the absolute latest by January next year," he tells reporters during a visit to a hospital in Cambridge.

Parliament has "stood in the way" of delivering Brexit, he adds.

When it comes to voting intention, polling company YouGov says age is a key factor in determining which way someone will lean.

BBC Politics Live
BBC2's lunchtime political programme

Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack says the party is having “grown-up conversations” about how it collaborates with other pro-Remain parties to ensure one candidate has a clear run in certain constituencies.

She says: “There are conservations happening. We are going to see unprecedented vote shares outside of the two-party system.

"We’ve been proving as Greens - where we’ve been standing – that we’ve been breaking that system but giving all the parties that best chance to have that clear Remain message is so vitally important.”