THE battlelines were tonight drawn for next week’s crunch Commons vote as the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats and Labour set out rival plans for press regulation and Gary Dobson, one of the two men jailed for the racist murder of teenager Stephen Lawrence, has dropped his appeal against conviction.
For the latest on these stories and more, click through the gallery below.
-
The battlelines were tonight drawn for next week's crunch Commons vote as the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats and Labour set out rival plans for press regulation. Both sides set out proposals for a royal charter establishing an independent self-regulatory body in the wake of Lord Justice Leveson's report.
-
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has called on his party to start winning after holding steady under fire for three years. Recent success at the Eastleigh by-election, gains across councils and their record in Government show that only the Lib Dems can build a stronger country, he told the Scottish party's spring conference.
-
Muslim convert Richard Dart is facing a long prison sentence today admitting getting involved in terrorism. Dart became involved in extremism after converting to Islam. He was featured in a BBC Three documentary made by his stepbrother.
-
One of the two men jailed for the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence has dropped his appeal against conviction, the Judicial Office confirmed today. Gary Dobson was given a life sentence at the Old Bailey in January last year.
-
The Government has claimed victory in a High Court battle over its HS2 high-speed rail scheme - despite a ruling that it conducted a legally flawed consultation process. A judge rejected nine out of ten grounds of challenge brought in five cases by objectors to the multibillion-pound project.
-
Young British men are much more likely to commit violent crimes if they have served in the armed forces, a study has found. Of around 3,000 military men under the age of 30, more than a fifth had a conviction for violent offences, compared with 6.7% of their civvie street peers.
-
More than a dozen skeletons, thought to be victims of The Black Death, have been unearthed in the City of London. So far the skeletons of 13 adults have been found under Charterhouse Square in Farringdon during excavation work for the £14.8 billion Crossrail project.
-
Veterans from one of the most significant surviving ships from the Second World War were back on board today to help celebrate the vessel's 75th birthday. Former ordnance officer John Harrison, 99, and Arctic Convoy survivor Frank Bond, 89, joined other guests to toast HMS Belfast with champagne.
-
Tens of thousands of extra school places will be needed by next year amid a continuing surge in demand, the spending watchdog warned today. Despite more than 80,000 extra primary spaces being created in the last two years, there are still signs of a real strain on school places, according to a new report by the National Audit Office (NAO).
-
Falkirk MP Eric Joyce has been banned from buying or being served alcohol anywhere in the Palace of Westminster, after he was arrested yesterday following an alleged late-night brawl in a House of Commons bar. Mr Joyce, 52, remained in custody today answering police questions about the incident.
-
Stavros Flatley perform in aid of Comic Relief in Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport. Meanwhile Miranda Hart turned wedding planner today as she was challenged with putting together a real-life marriage ceremony in a matter of hours.
-
Jockey Colman Sweeney celebrates winning the CGA Foxhunter Chase Challenge Cup on Salsify during the Cheltenham Gold Cup Day on Day Four of the 2013 Cheltenham Festival
