General election news – live: Jo Swinson faces grilling from Andrew Neil as Boris Johnson continues to avoid interview
Follow all the latest developments as they happened
Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox
Get our free View from Westminster email
Labour have suggested Downing Street may have “advised” Donald Trump on what to say about the NHS during his two-day trip to the UK. Shadow trade secretary Barry Gardiner said: “Maybe his visit to No 10 … schooled him in what he ought to say.”
It comes as video showed Justin Trudeau and other Nato leaders appearing to mock Mr Trump at a Buckingham Palace reception. A huddle, which included Boris Johnson, was filmed apparently gossiping about the president. Mr Johnson said the idea he had been laughing at Mr Trump was “complete nonsense”.
Jo Swinson has endured an awkward encounter with Extinction Rebellion protesters dressed as bees, one of whom glued himself to the Lib Dem campaign bus.
She later apologised for the Lib Dems backing welfare cuts while in power with the Tories in an appearance on BBC One’s The Andrew Neil Interviews.
Jeremy Corbyn said he would give the PM’s country residence Chequers to a homeless family if he wins.
Mr Neil says three years ago 52 per cent of the country voted to leave the EU, however the Lib Dems were proposing to reverse that, which was "undemocratic".
Jo Swinson says she would work with Labour MPs to try to stop Brexit.
When asked if she would work with Jeremy Corbyn to stop Brexit, she replies: "Will I vote for legislation for a people's vote? Yes."
Asked if the Lib Dems would prop up a Corbyn-led government for six months in order to allow time for a new Brexit referendum, Ms Swinson said: "Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson, neither of them are fit to be prime minister".
She added: "I am not going to put Jeremy Corbyn in Number 10 but if a government of any colour puts down a bill in parliament to have a people's vote, then we will support a bill to have a people's vote".
Andrew Neil asks Ms Swinson what she would do if Jeremy Corbyn needed the support of the SNP as well as the Lib Dems for a second referendum, and the SNP said only if they could have another Scottish independence referendum.
She says she would not support another Scottish independence referendum, adding that it is "more chaos on top of that existing chaos".
Andrew Neil moves on to the Lib Dem promise to scrap the bedroom tax: "You're proposing to scrap the so-called bedroom tax. Who voted nine times to introduce the bedroom tax?"
Ms Swinson replies: "Liberal Democrats in government, including myself. Which I have previously said, and I'm happy to say again, was wrong and I'm sorry about that and it was one of the things we did get wrong."
Andrew Neil continues to grill Ms Swinson on her voting record.
When asked who voted several times to introduce the benefits cap, which the Lib Dems are now proposing to scrap, Ms Swinson says: "I will have done as someone in collective responsibility in government."
When asked why people should believe her this time when she responsible for these things, Ms Swinson replies: "We did spend five years in a coalition government where clearly we didn't win every battle against the Conservatives.
"Of course there were things where we didn't win those battles and I'm sorry about that."
Mr Neil says "often the poorest and the weakest in our society" are those on the receiving end of "these mistakes."
He asks if Ms Swinson will apologise to the 240,000 people who had their benefits cut because she "went along with the bedroom tax".
She replies: "Yes I am sorry that I did that. It was not the right policy and we should have stopped it.
"And our manifesto makes clear that that should be scrapped. And not only the bedroom tax, but the two child limit, which was introduced by the Conservative majority government."
Ms Swinson says some cuts "were necessary" but that "the shape of those cuts and the balance between cuts and tax rises I don't think was the right balance".
Asked whether austerity was a "necessary evil" or a "terrible mistake" the Lib Dem leader replies: "Clearly too much was cut. Clearly not enough was raised from taxation."
Actor Hugh Grant has been confronted by anti-racism protesters while campaigning for the Labour Party in northeast London.
The Love Actually star faced questions on why he was supporting an allegedly "racist" party as he joined Labour candidate Faiza Shaheen in the Chingford and Woodford Green constituency on Wednesday night.
After delivering an outdoor speech to a crowd of dozens of Labour supporters, Grant was challenged by a man as he got into a nearby waiting car with Ms Shaheen.
The protester, carrying a placard bearing the message "Corbyn supported terrorists. Unfit to be PM", repeatedly asked Grant why he was supporting a "racist" party.
Grant did not respond, with his car being temporarily blocked from leaving by the protester.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments