Boris Johnson has appeared on a combative edition of the BBC's Andrew Marr Show - following a pledge by the broadcaster to refuse the prime minister a platform unless he agreed to an on-air grilling with Andrew Neil.
His on-air appearance comes after a BMG Research poll reveal the Conservative party's lead has been more than halved since the election was called.
Meanwhile Jeremy Corbyn has accused Boris Johnson of being “the world’s leading sycophant” towards Donald Trump as the Labour leader outlines his approach to foreign policy if elected.
Welcome to the Independent politics live blog - today we will b e following the prime minister's interview with Andrew Marr as the debate around early release from prison continues following Friday's attack on London Bridge by convicted terrorist Usman Khan.
Corbyn and Raab on Ridge, Johnson on Marr
The first of the Sunday shows will see Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, the Liberal Democrats economic spokesman Sir Ed Davey and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab appear on Sophy Ridge's Sky show.
The first of the Sunday shows will see Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, the Liberal Democrats economic spokesman Sir Ed Davey and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab appear on Sophy Ridge's Sky show.
Following up will be the prime minister on the BBC's Andrew Marr show - a move by the broadcaster that has caused anger among the Labour party.
Here's Jeremy Corbyn's full response to questions on how to handle detained terrorists in the UK - with the Labour leader arguing that terrorists should be released early if they have been rehabilitated during their prison stay:
Corbyn says terrorists can be released early if they have been 'rehabilitated'
Jeremy Corbyn says terrorists can be released early from prison if they have been “rehabilitated”, as he linked the London Bridge attack to big government funding cuts.
Asked if anyone convicted of terror offences should service their full sentence – as Boris Johnson has now pledged – the Labour leader said: “Not necessarily, no.”
More below from The Independent'sRob Merrick:
Jeremy Corbyn says terrorists can be released early if they have been 'rehabilitated'
Labour leader says prisons should also be 'a place where rehabilitation takes place'Corbyn would vote in second Brexit referendum
Jeremy Corbyn has said he would vote in a second Brexit referendum - but has refused to outline what side he would support.
Asked if it was really showing leadership to remain neutral on thew UK's relationship with the EU, he said: "Yes - because this country has got to come together
"We can't keep negotiating and debating how people voted in 2016".
Asked how he would vote after negotiating a new deal with the EU, he said: "you'll have to wait and see".
Conservatives on the attack over Corbyn terror stance
Conservative party officials have taken to Twitter to attack Jeremy Corbyn over his stance on rehabilitating those convicted of terror.
Security minister Brandon Lewis wrote "words fail me on this" regarding the Labour leader's comment that terrorists should "not necessarily" serve their full prison sentence - while others saw fit to simply tweet out Mr Corbyn's comments as they stood.
The matter will likely be recalled throughout the next two weeks - particularly after Boris Johnson came out strongly in favour of stricter sentencing following Friday's attack.
Corbyn - "I wished our party had acted on antisemitism more rapidly"
Jeremy Corbyn has said he poses no threat to the Jewish community in the UK - and that he regrets the party not acting on antisemitism faster.
Asked if he thought he had done anything wrong when it came to his handling of the issue, he said:
I wished our party had acted on it more rapidly at the very beginning and dealt with it at that point and also I want to make it very clear to the Jewish community, to the Muslim community and to any other community, anyone under threat because of persecution, because of attacks on their temples, mosques, synagogues or places of worship will be very secure under a Labour government.We will make sure there is full funding of all the protection measures they need and full respect for their religion, their faith and their place in our society.Jewish people suffered like no other in the 20th century through anti-Semitism in Germany which led to the horrors of the Holocaust and Jewish people have made an incredible contribution to my party, to our trade unions, to our life and intellectual life in this country.I value that and I thank them for everything that they do, I want all communities to be safe.
Lib Dem deputy - 'I've been alarmed by PM's response to terror'
Sir Ed Davey, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, has accused Boris Johnson of politicising Friday’s terror attack.
Speaking on Ridge on Sunday on Sky News, he said: "I've been a bit alarmed though about how the Prime Minister Boris Johnson has responded. He seems to be politicising this at a time when we really should be thinking about the families.
"But, worse still, he's misleading people about what the current law is. He's trying to say that there is early release now, but actually that was got rid of in 2012."
Sir Ed added: "I'm afraid the Prime Minister was misleading people again on television last night, he said ... the current law is that people get early release after 50% of the term - that's not true.
"Either he's incompetent and doesn't know the law, or he's deliberately misleading people when we've got a tragedy on our hands, and I'm afraid, either way, it does not look good for the Prime Minister and he should be apologising.
"In the middle of an election, we shouldn't be making political capital out of a tragedy, and he's doing that, and he's doing that in a way which is misleading people about what the law actually says."
Dominic Raab 'not really' concerned about losing his seat
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said he is not worried about his seat as poll numbers put the Liberal Democrats within touching distance of tipping the constituency.
Asked if he was concerned that he could lose Esher and Walton in his own Portillo moment he said "not really"
"The truth is with a seat like mine you never take anything for granted - and the polls are fluid all over the place - but the one thing it does show you in my constituency and up and down the country is the risk of a hung parliament".
A recent Deltapoll survey found Mr Raab's lead has declined by 13 points in his constituency - with his Lib Dem rival on 41 per cent compared to his lead of 46 per cent.
Chuka Umunna chimes in with Davey on playing politics with terror
Liberal Democrat candidate Chuka Umunna has criticised Labour and the Tories for "seeking to use a terrorist incident as a political football" amid the General Election campaign.
The party's foreign affairs spokesman told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show: "Clearly the system needs to be looked at, but the facts are this.
"The assailant, the person who committed the acts here, was jailed under a regime inherited by the coalition government from a Labour government and then he was released early under a Conservative government.
"So, this happened under governments of different political persuasions."
His comment chimes with that of the deputy leader sir Ed Davey earlier, who said he was 'alarmed' by the PM's response to the incident.
Watch: Raab not concerned over seat
While the Lib Dems have made the seat a key target, Mr Raab has been dogged by national problems haunting him in his local area - with the parents of Harry Dunn arriving to campaign against him in the area.
While the Lib Dems have made the seat a key target, Mr Raab has been dogged by national problems haunting him in his local area - with the parents of Harry Dunn arriving to campaign against him in the area.
However Mr Raab has said he is not concerned about the challenge.
Here's Dominic Raab on his concern he might end up losing his seat following a surging Liberal Democrat campaign.
Boris Johnson arrives on Marr
The PM is now appearing on the BBC to discuss Friday's terror attack and stricter sentencing legislation.
According to the Guardian's Helen Pidd, who was on the show earlier, he managed to make it on air by a fine margin.
Why is Boris Johnson's appearance on the BBC controversial?
The BBC had previously said they would not allow the prime minister to appear on the channel until he agreed to an interview with Andrew Neil - following the lead of Jeremy Corbyn and Nicola Sturgeon.
The broadcaster said it was necessary to provide a slot for the prime minister in the wake of the terror attack on London Bridge that left two people dead and three injured after convicted and released terrorist Usman Khan stabbed members of the public.
In a statement, the corporation said: “As the national public service broadcaster, the BBC’s first priority must be its audience. In the wake of a major terrorist incident, we believe it is now in the public interest that the prime minister should be interviewed on our flagship Sunday political programme.
Here's more:
BBC under fire for U-turn in allowing Boris Johnson to appear on Marr despite dodging Andrew Neil grilling
Labour MP says move ‘will leave professional BBC journalists absolutely horrified and in despair’Boris Johnson dodges calls to apologise over probation services
Boris Johnson has dodged calls to apologise for the state of probation services under a Conservative government – while laying the blame for the London Bridge terrorist’s early release from prison on the previous Labour government.
Friday's attacker Usman Khan was automatically freed after six years in prison on terror charges with no involvement from probation officials.
In his BBC interview Andrew Marr repeatedly put to the prime minister that his party had been in power for nine years – and asked whether he would like to apologise for cuts to the probation service under his party.
Mr Johnson said “Obviously I think we should be investing more in the criminal justice system” – but disagreed that his government had made a mistake on policy.
Johnson - 74 more terror convicts released early
Boris Johnson has says there are 74 convicted terrorists in the UK who have allowed out of prison on early release.
“I don’t want to go into the operational details" he said "I am sure that people can imagine that what we are doing with the other 74 individuals is to ensure that they are being properly invigilated to ensure that there is no threat"
Boris Johnson appears to agree to Andrew Neil interview
The Prime Minister has said he would be willing to be interviewed by Andrew Neil, following on from Jeremy Corbyn and Nicola Sturgeon who have already faced a grilling from him.
Mr Johnson said he would be "perfectly happy" to be interviewed by "any interviewer called Andrew on the BBC".
However he did add "no previous prime minister has done one-on-one TV debates" - despite the format put forward by Mr Neil being a typical broadcast interview.
Theresa May and David Cameron both took part in similar events, with the latter being interviewed by Jeremy Paxman on live TV.
His agreement came as part of a blistering interview with Andrew Marr - who put forward a more combative than usual performance on his Sunday show.
David Lammy- PM has 'normalised deceit'
Labour's David Lammy has accused the prime minister of "bare-face lies" during his Marr interview - arguing that Boris Johnson has "normalised deceit and destroyed trust".
He added: "Boris Johnson on Marr is a slow motion car crash of lies, blame-shifting and deflection.
"No one watching this could consider this man fit to be Prime Minister of the United Kingdom."
It is not clear which specific element of the interview Mr Lammy is referring to as false.
Meanwhile, in reference to the PM stating he had 'a record of campaigning against prejudice', Chuka Umunna added: "This a lie and he knows it.
"The litany of offensive things he has said about black people, Muslim people, women, etc speaks for itself.
"The litany of offensive things he has said about black people, Muslim people, women, etc speaks for itself.
"He is treating the public like fools".
Johnson - Austerity not to blame for terror attack
Boris Johnson has denied huge Conservative funding cuts to probation services were “a mistake” and insisted they played no part in the London Bridge terror attack.
A former top prosecutor says he personally warned the prime minister about the risk posed by freeing terrorists who had not been deradicalised, but was told there was “no money” for a programme.
But, put under pressure on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show, the prime minister claimed Labour early-release rules alone were responsible for Friday’s atrocity.
More from Rob Merrick here:
Boris Johnson denies huge Tory cuts were 'a mistake' and insists they played no part in London Bridge terror attack
Boris Johnson has denied huge Conservative funding cuts to probation services were “a mistake” and insisted they played no part in the London Bridge terror attack. A former top prosecutor says he personally warned the prime minister about the risk posed by freeing terrorists who had not been deradicalised, but was told there was “no money” for a programme. But, put under
Conservatives either heading for colossal majority or Pyrrhic victory
A bit of poll aggregation here – and as it stands it’s a fine margin between all out victory for Boris Johnson and all out failure.
A bit of poll aggregation here – and as it stands it’s a fine margin between all out victory for Boris Johnson and all out failure.
Electoral Calculus puts the potential Conservative majority projected at this stage at somewhere between four – the same as the 2017 election dubbed a catastrophe for Theresa May – and 110.
Here’s The Independent’s John Rentoul with the numbers:
Jeremy Corbyn to speak from election rally
Jeremy Corbyn has taken to the stage at a campaign rally in Yorkshire to outline his views on foreign policy
