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Liberal Democrat Spring Conference

Lib Dems to 'raise tax allowance'

Raising the personal income tax allowance to £12,500 will be a key Liberal Democrat demand in any coalition talks after the 2015 election, the senior minister who will lead the party's negotiating team will say today.

Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander will confirm that increasing the threshold will be written into the party's manifesto for the contest, and a rise of at least £500 - giving a tax cut of £100 - would be earmarked for the first Budget or Autumn Statement after the election.

The Lib Dems have made raising the point at which people start paying income tax to £10,000 a priority in Government, and Mr Alexander indicated pressure was mounting for George Osborne to signal a further rise to £10,500 in this month's Budget.

Watch: Lib Dems open conference with 'attack' over Europe

Ukraine: No one will recognise Crimea referendum result

The Counter Revolution of the Babuchka's

by Eric Fux

They are early risers. By the crack of dawn they go and buy groceries and bread, and then they gather in front of the Regional Government's building in the centre of the Eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk.

They head for the dozens of police lined up to protect the building and engage with them in hefty discussions, endless tirades venting their grievances.

They are Eastern Ukraine's Babuchka's, older women, who have worked hard to raise families and cared for their children and men and now live off a small pension earned in Soviet times, which they are afraid to lose should Ukraine turn Westwards.

Men tell me they are the real power in these parts of the world. And with the government here lacking any credibility and the police uncertain of its allegiance, they may be right

Their fears date back to WWII, when the Western Ukrainians sided with the Nazis and committed many horrific massacres.

They may be wearing fur coats, nothing fancy in this cold climate, and are armed with handbags which they use to repel any dissenting voices from the square. Some chase away a strong and bearded man with a broomstick.

Over lunch some of them turn up at the Opera on Lenin square to listen to a concert for women's day, then they return the

counter revolution.

After dark we see them battling the riot police in front of the security services building, the former KGB headquarters, where they demand the release of their leader.

There are, of course, also others. More brutal and younger men, some say bussed in from Russia, but in all they don't seem to number more than a few hundred in this city of 2 million.

There seem to be an equal number of militant pro Ukrainians, with nobodyknowing what the great majority of people here really stand for.

That is why a referendum may not be such a bad idea.

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Mild weekend with sunshine developing

by - ITV Weather Presenter

There will be a slow start in the morning with cloudy skies.

Scotland and Northern Ireland will be very windy and wet and patchy rain will seep into the north-west of England and Wales before easing.

But in the afternoon it will cheer up with brighter skies developing. There will be plenty of sunshine for most, with many places staying mild.

Highs will reach 16c or 17c in the south. Elsewhere temperatures will remain above average for the time of year.

On Sunday, temperatures will possibly peak nearer 18c across the south-east making it warmer than some spots of the Mediterranean.

Neville Lawrence's disgust at 'officer revealing marriage split'

Officer 'revealed details about Lawrence marriage split'

An undercover officer who allegedly "spied" on the Lawrence family disclosed details concerning the separation of Stephen Lawrence's mother and father, Doreen and Neville.

Doreen and Neville Lawrence pictured in 1999. Credit: PA Wire

The officer - known as N81 - reportedly "touched on personal details" concerning the family to the Special Demonstrations Squad (SDS) during the 1998 inquiry into Stephen Lawrence's death, according to the Ellison report.

Neville Lawrence labelled the claims as "disgusting", telling the Daily Mail: "It's unbelievable. They have mocked everything we have done, telling us to our faces that they are listening and things will change, and all the time laughing behind our backs.

"I think they are actually worse than criminals because these officers get paid with taxpayers' money for what they do."

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Two charged over death of toddler in Blackpool

Two charged over death of a toddler in Blackpool

Sophie Jones Credit: Lanchashire Police

A man and a woman have been charged in connection with the death of a two-year-old girl in Blackpool.

Barry Jones, 41, and Michelle King, 29, have both been charged with causing or allowing the death of a child by means of an unlawful act.

An ambulance was called to an address in Blackpool where Sophie Jones had been taken ill. She later died in hospital.

Toxicology tests have confirmed that she had ingested methadone, but the cause of her death has not been confirmed.

No 10: Camerons 'followed proper process' over nanny

Immigration minister's attack comes back to haunt PM

by - Political Correspondent
The Camerons at the Conservative Party conference in October Credit: Oli Scarff/PA Wire

Whenthe new immigration minister James Brokenshire attacked what he called the "wealthy, metropolitan elite" for benefiting from cheap foreign labour, it's unlikely he meant to point the finger at the Prime Minister.

But his words have now come back to haunt the government, after it emerged the Camerons had hired a Nepalese woman as a nanny who later gained British citizenship.

Tonight, Number 10 were forced to clarify her immigration status after questions from Labour and journalists.

She had put Samantha Cameron down as her employer but there was no special pleading on her behalf.

Do these domestic arrangements really matter politically? Well, it shows what a sensitive subject immigration continues to be - and why getting the tone right can be tricky.

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