Boris Johnson has been criticised after an old newspaper column resurfaced in which he said seeing "bunch of black kids" used to make him "turn a hair" and run away.
In the column from 2000, he added: "I have prejudged this group on the basis of press reports, possibly in right-wing newspapers, about the greater likelihood of being mugged by young black males than by any other group. And if that is racial prejudice, then I am guilty."
It comes as Mr Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn, Nicola Sturgeon and Jo Swinson prepare to debate with a live a studio audience during an election special of BBC Question Time this evening.
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The Labour leader has the first 30-minute slot, followed by Ms Swinson, Ms Sturgeon and then the prime minister - with all four leaders braced for questions on Brexit, the NHS and the economy.
Poor 'hit twice as hard as rich' by tax-and-benefit changes since Conservatives came to power
The poor have been hit almost twice as hard as the rich by tax-and-benefit changes since the Conservatives came to power, independent experts say, in powerful general election ammunition for Labour.
The worst-off 10 per cent of households have lost 7 per cent of their income since 2010, they say – rising to 18 per cent among those families with children.
In contrast, the highest-earning 10 per cent of the population have seen their incomes fall by only 4 per cent since the austerity programme was introduced.
Parody Coca-Cola advert with Corbyn as Father Christmas removed after complaint
A parody of Coca-Cola's famous Christmas truck advert featuring Jeremy Corbyn as Father Christmas has been removed from social media after the drinks giant lodged a copyright complaint.
Momentum, the grassroots activist group, had posted footage of the classic annual advert featuring brightly lit trucks with doctored slogans like "scrap tuition fees" and "build one million new homes".
The group sent the spoof video with the caption "The new Coca-Cola Advert is actually amazing" on Friday.
The video also featured lorries labelled "water, rail and energy", with a firework-type display spelling out they would be taken "back into public ownership".
But it was swiftly taken off Facebook and Twitter after the brand, one of the most recognisable symbols of global capitalism, said it was "taking steps to ensure this is removed".
A Coca-Cola spokesman said: "We have been made aware of a social post from Momentum which uses footage from the Coca-Cola Christmas advert.
"The film is in no way endorsed by The Coca-Cola Company and we have not given permission for any footage to be used in this way.
"We are taking steps to ensure this is removed."
UK to repatriate orphaned children of British Isis members from Syria
The children, who cannot be identified for security reasons, will be the first British citizens to be brought back to the UK from territory formerly under the control of the terror group.
Some 25 British women and more than 60 of their children have been stranded in the country’s northeast since fleeing the Isis caliphate in its final days earlier this year. Most of them are under the age of five, meaning they would probably have been born in Isis territory.
Corbyn is finally starting to look like a prime minister – but has he missed his chance?
'The Labour leader struck a confident, measured but passionate tone as he unveiled his radical manifesto – but he may have run out of time to woo enough voters to kick Johnson out of No 10,' writes our political editor Andrew Woodcock.
Research from the commission also indicates that young people and those who have recently moved house are most likely to be incorrectly registered.
Cahir Hughes, head of the Electoral Commission, Northern Ireland, has encouraged those not registered to vote to do so.
"As we get closer to the election, it is vital that everyone in Northern Ireland is able to have their say, and they must be registered by Tuesday (November 26)," he said.
"It only takes five minutes to register to vote online - time that you might otherwise spend waiting for the kettle to boil or for a bus to arrive. So if you want to make sure your voice is heard and you're not already registered, go online and register now."
A person can register to vote in December's General Election if they are aged 18 or over on polling day and a British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen resident in Northern Ireland.
Registration can be done online at http://www.gov.uk/registertovote.
He was also given a plate with a rose in the middle and the words "register to vote" written on it - which the Labour leader commented on, saying: "Now this is the important one".
Mr Corbyn then donned an apron and had a go at painting a plate using some shaped sponge stamps.
After his trip to the pottery, Mr Corbyn then visited B'Oatcake, a takeaway boat, where his wife asked him for a double cheese oatcake with honey, a North Staffordshire speciality.
Through the serving hatch, he replied: "There's no honey, not today. You can have double cheese but no honey, you're sweet enough as it is, you don't need honey."
As he left the boat, two men standing on a bridge above the canal booed the Labour leader, to which he responded by smiling at them and saying "nice to see you, OK".
Mr Corbyn was greeted by a friendlier crowd when he spoke at a rally in Fenton Town Hall.
Before departing the city, Mr Corbyn had shouts directed at him which described him as an "IRA lover".
Farage claims tragic migrant deaths could be prevented if UK made clear illegal entrants will be deported
Nigel Farage has has come under fire after suggesting that Britain could stop tragedies like the last month’s death of 39 people found in a freight container in Essex by sending out the message to illegal migrants that if they get to the UK they will be sent straight back.
His comments came as he launched a Brexit Party’s general election agenda including policies to cut annual immigration below 50,000.
Anti-racist campaigners accused the Brexit Party leader of "scaremongering" after he suggested that current levels of immigration were damaging British communities. And he was criticised for raising questions over who should qualify as a refugee.
The UK has been condemned for ignoring a United Nations deadline to hand the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius.
The UN overwhelmingly voted in May to set the six-month deadline for UK withdrawal from the Indian Ocean archipelago in a major diplomatic blow.
Jeremy Corbyn vowed to "end colonial rule" if he wins the December 12 election and accused the Conservatives of "shamefully" considering themselves above international law.
"It's clear that in refusing to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and defying the UN General Assembly and International Court of Justice, this Conservative government shamefully considers itself to be above international law," the Labour leader said.
"A Labour government will end colonial rule.
"We immediately will enact our manifesto promise to allow the people of the Chagos Islands and their descendants the right to return to the lands from which they should never have been removed."
The UK evicted Chagossians from the archipelago between 1967 and 1973 so the US could erect a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the group.
That move, and the islands' incorporation into the British Indian Ocean Territory, was ruled "unlawful" by judges at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
While not legally binding, the UN vote heaped diplomatic pressure on Britain to return the territory with the General Assembly backing the resolution 116 votes to six.
The UK purchased the archipelago from Mauritius for £3 million in 1965, when it was still a British colony. Mauritius, which gained independence from Britain in 1968, maintains the islands are its own.
The shadow chancellor said "structural changes in the economy" included in the Labour manifesto would make firms think more-long term and invest for the future because the changes would mean "everyone has a vested interest in the operation of their company".
The opposition's manifesto says businesses would be required to have one-third of boards composed of elected "worker-directors" drawn from staff, sitting alongside shareholders. It also wants to lift restrictions on trade unions imposed in the 1980s and bring back national collective bargaining for wages.
What time is the debate tonight and how can I watch?
The BBC will host a Question Time Leaders’ Special tonight, with Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn, Jo Swinson and Nicola Sturgeon facing audience questions.
It is the first time in this campaign the Liberal Democrats and the SNP will be involved in a leaders' debate, and comes after Tuesday night’s clash between Mr Johnson and Mr Corbyn, which saw a majority of undecided voters more impressed by the Labour leader.
The party leaders are expected to face questions on Brexit, the NHS and the economy, all of which have dominated the election campaign thus far.
Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson has been questioned by a Strathclyde University student over her party's role in the coalition that governed the UK between 2010 and 2015.
Jay Sutherland, who later told reporters he intended to vote for the Labour Party, approached Ms Swinson during a campaign event in Glasgow.
Mr Sutherland said the effect of austerity in the city was "unforgivable".
He said: "People are dying here in poverty because of what you've done with austerity.
"I know people who have suffered so much, it breaks my heart.
Ms Swinson, who was flanked by Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie, replied: "I'd encourage you to look at what our plans are in this election."
Mr Sutherland branded the Lib Dem manifesto "not good enough".
He accused the party of "betraying students" in England, a reference to the decision not to push for scrapping of tuition fees, something which was a major point of the party's 2010 manifesto.
Mr Sutherland said: "I don't think they'll ever forgive you for that."
Ms Swinson, who served as an Under-Secretary for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs between 2012 and 2015, said the student was "entitled to that view", adding she believed capitalism is in need of reform.
Social media is an increasingly important battle ground in elections - and home to many questionable claims pumped out by all sides. If social media sites won't investigate the truth of divisive advertising, we will. Please send any political Facebook advertising you receive to digitaldemocracy@independent.co.uk, and we will catalogue and investigate it. Read more here.
