Harriet Harman has tweeted a letter which she has sent to the Commons Women and Equalities Committee, setting out why she thinks she is the best person to become the next Commons Speaker.

"It is important not just to have a woman in the chair but one who has, as I always have, sought to support other women," the Labour MP writes.

If she was elected Speaker, she says she would seek a formal agreement setting out what constitutes acceptable conduct among MPs.

"There should be an end to shouting-down and finger jabbing," she writes.

Image source, Reuters

Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson's chief Brexit adviser and architect of what his critics claim is a "People vs Parliament" election, has been pictured leaving home this morning.

He isn't running the party's campaign but knows that his future and that of Brexit rests on the outcome.

The constituency that Nicola Sturgeon is visiting today - Edinburgh North and Leith - is a three way marginal, says BBC Scotland journalist Philip Sim.

Her visit, he is sure, will likely be followed by others from the SNP's rivals.

Ahead of the campaign stop, the SNP leader said the country would be "scunnered by Brexit if Boris Johnson gets his way".

"This is Scotland's chance to escape the Brexit chaos by voting SNP and putting Scotland's future in Scotland's hands," she said.

Tom Hollander - the actor known for roles including Rev and political satires In The Thick of It and In the Loop - was spotted in the Commons public gallery yesterday, taking notes.

Could he be preparing for another role?

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Lord Evans, former director of the UK security service, has also been asked how concerned the UK should be about the possibility of Russia interfering in the upcoming election.

This follows claims by former Tory MP Dominic Grieve that the government is sitting on a report which suggests the Kremlin sought to interfere in the 2016 Brexit referendum.

"Well I know that the national cyber-security centre will be taking a very close look at what's happening online," Lord Evans says.

"There's clear evidence of Russian interest in meddling in the American elections. We've seen similar things in continental Europe. So I think we'd be foolhardy to assume the Russians would not want to meddle if they could."

How would we know it was happening?

"Sometimes you can get it through secret intelligence," he suggests.

"But I think there's good analysis of, for instance, some of the way in which Twitter etcetera is being used which can indicate that this is not genuine members of the public but this is actually a campaign being organised externally.

"And I think if that happens that needs to be called out."

Sky News

Conservative grandee Ken Clarke is standing down as MP for Rushcliffe at the election but, as ever, he has some interesting views on what lies ahead.

The ex-chancellor tells Sky News the 12 December poll is "impossible" to predict as "we have never seen" anything like the current volatility over Brexit.

He suggests the two main parties' policies on Europe are "muddled" and the Lib Dems and the Brexit Party could benefit by sweeping up Remain and Leave voters respectively.

Boris Johnson's decision to go to the polls - which he says is driven by the PM's top adviser Dominic Cummings - represents a "terrible gamble".

While Downing Street may be hoping for a "substitute Brexit referendum", elections tend to "take on a life of their own", he argues.

"Boris Johnson could have got his Brexit deal through and we could have left. If he had not called the election, we could have left the EU before polling day."

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BBC Radio 4

Image source, PA Media

MPs have increasingly become the target of abuse over the last few years, and some of those who are stepping down at the next election say this is a factor in their decision.

Lord Evans, chair of the Committee of Standards in Public Life, says there is "not a single immediate solution" to the problem.

"The committee I chair reported in 2017 on this whole question of intimidation in public life and we came out with a whole raft of recommendations," he says.

"Recommendations aimed at the social media companies, at political leaders, also at the authorities on the security side.

"But the critical thing I think is that there needs to be a unified voice and leadership on this issue by the political parties themselves."

He says the CPS has issued guidance to MPs on what is and what is legal, and some media companies "are thinking about using what are sometimes called a 'nudge' approach, which asks the person do you really want to say this before they push the button".

Image source, Jessica Taylor /UK Parliament

Many people have been praising this photo taken on Thursday by official House of Commons photographer Jessica Taylor.

The photo was shared widely on social media and, alongside fans and critics of Mr Bercow expressing either gladness or sadness at seeing him leave, were people admiring the shot.

Jessica Taylor, who took the picture, tweeted that it marked "the end of a body of work spanning nearly a decade" photographing Mr Bercow.

Read more about the ex-speaker here.

Image source, AFP

This from the BBC's politics reporter Joey D'Urso

Data obtained by the BBC reveals the vast reach of taxpayer-funded digital advertising.

The government spent about £100,000 promoting Theresa May’s Brexit deal a year ago, on digital platforms, mainly Facebook.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show these ads got about 52 million "impressions", a rough metric for views.

But the more recent ‘Get Ready for Brexit’ campaign has been far larger, suggesting far more people have seen taxpayer-funded digital adverts more recently.

Image source, Getty Images

By the BBC's digital election reporter Joe Tidy

"The Lib Dems are going pretty hard, pretty fast. They have spent the most by a long way, about £13,000, which doesn't seem like a lot but of course it's early days.

"They've got messages for example, 'stop Brexit'. They've got a video which is going around on Instagram and Facebook and that's being aimed at people below 45.

"And interestingly they've got a still of Jo Swinson which says 'stop Brexit with Jo' which is being squarely aimed at women.

"We know this because the Facebook ad library is a new resource we've been given this year by Facebook which allows us to see who is seeing what ads and how much they're costing."

"Labour have spent £3,000 so far. They are mainly going for a mix of different people. Yesterday was the launch, they have got pictures of Jeremy Corbyn, that seems to be their main thing.

"Interestingly I found one of the ads they're sending out is for donations asking specifically for money, that's being aimed squarely at 55-year-olds or older who are male.

"As for the Conservatives, there's been no spending whatsoever except for one very hyper targeted, very localised ad, going to Milton Keynes which has a picture of Jeremy Corbyn and a quote that he said back in January about Milton Keynes which some would see as disparaging.

"As for the other parties, Plaid Cymru have spent a little bit of money so far, only £400 and nothing from the Brexit Party or SNP."

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BBC Radio 4

Image source, PA Media

Former international trade secretary Liam Fox is asked about Donald Trump's comments claiming the US "can't make a trade deal with the UK" under Boris Johnson's Brexit deal.

The Tory MP tells BBC Radio 4's Today that by leaving the EU's customs union, the UK will be able to "establish an independent trade policy".

He says he would prefer to discuss trade deals with the EU and the US at the same time.

He says the future trade agreement with the EU "will actually determine how free we are to set trade agreements elsewhere".

"What you need to do, my personal preference, would be that we do them in parallel, that we're doing an FTA with the European Union and the United States.

"There will be those who want the European Union one to be done first so you get more of a European flavour to your trade blueprint."

Today was supposed to be the first day of the UK's new life outside the European Union.

This, of course, is not now happening after the Brexit deadline was delayed to 31 January pending the outcome of the election.

The BBC's Joey D'Urso has noticed that the government is changing its Brexit messaging on its main information portal to reflect the new reality.

Nigel Farage says there is a need for an "alliance" between the Brexit Party and the Conservatives.

Speaking on LBC this morning, Mr Farage says he will elaborate on what this might mean in practice at the Brexit Party's launch in London later.

He refused to comment before his speech on whether the Brexit Party would be fielding "20 or 200 candidates".

"I run a very tight ship, we don't leak," he adds. "I will reveal all later on today.

"But I can assure you that most of what I say will be about Boris's deal and the need, in my view, for some kind of Brexit alliance."

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BBC Radio 4

Professor Rob Johns, an expert in politics from the University of Essex, says he thinks the more Brexit Party candidates that stand, the worse that will be for the Conservative Party.

Explaining, he says: "It was possible for somebody who was, let's say, somewhat UKIP somewhat Labour inclined in 2017, to kind of shelve the EU issue because it wasn't clear what Labour were saying about it.

"But if you're still saying that you're Brexit Party inclined now, you're probably somebody who has an extremely hard line on the EU issue, a line that's now irreconcilable with where Labour has gone.

"So I think there's going to be much less back to Labour from UKIP/Brexit than there was at that election."

We don't know yet how many or where the Brexit Party will be fielding candidates - but are expecting to find out later this morning at their campaign launch.

Many of Friday's front pages focus on the US president's "extraordinary" intervention in the UK general election.

The Daily Mail described it as a "diplomatic hand grenade".

The Daily Telegraph says Mr Farage's interview of Donald Trump was timed to coincide with the Brexit Party's election launch. Read more from the papers here.

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BBC Radio 4

The Brexit Party "has the potential for considerable impact if it stands", says politics professor Rob Johns, from the University of Essex.

But there's a lot of debate of what the impact would be and from whom those votes would come, he adds.

"There is certainly a market of traditional, or previously loyal Labour voters who could go that way.

"But the more and more we look at the people who vote for the Brexit Party who are inclined in that direction, the more they look uninterested in going back to Labour.

"I think we are now in a situation where this is a fairly straight potential gain for the Conservatives if the Brexit Party stand aside."

He adds the Brexit Party would "certainly take people who have previously voted Labour".

"But there's a danger in the assumption that because that's where they came from, that's where they would go back to.

"The best polling we have of this is an Ashcroft poll which had 1,000 Brexit Party voters back in September, and when pushed to choose between Conservatives with Johnson or Labour under Corbyn, 94% of them said Conservatives with Johnson."

The official election campaign doesn't start for another five days, but many MPs aren't wasting any time.

Among those out posting leaftlets, despite the wet weather, is Colchester MP Will Quince.

As a December election - the first in nearly 100 years - candidates can expect a lot more cold and rain.

Meanwhile, Greg Hands has positioned himself outside a Tube station in London, along with MP Nicholas Soames, who will not be standing for re-election despite being among the 10 Tory rebels who had the whip restored last week.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Yesterday, Mr Trump said the US would not be involved with the UK's health service in any trade deal.

In June, he'd said the NHS was on the table in any trade deal.

Responding, Labour's shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner says: "If you're asking me why it is President Trump puts out conflicting messages, then I can't answer."

He adds that President Trump "does not appear to agree with the mandate which has already been passed for America's trade relations and trade negotiations with the UK".

Political leaders are continuing to launch their campaigns.

Among those on the campaign trail is Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon, who will visit Edinburgh this morning.

She’ll speak to voters and activists alongside the SNP’s candidate for Edinburgh North and Leith.

At about 11:00 GMT the Brexit Party is expected to announce its election strategy and Nigel Farage should confirm where his party will be standing candidates.

One of the constituencies he’s being tipped for is Thurrock in Essex, where more than 70% of referendum voters chose to leave the EU.

Yesterday, Mr Farage refused to confirm reports the party was withdrawing hundreds of election candidates in order to focus its campaign on a small number of Leave-voting Labour seats.