Badenoch defends seeking a ban on pro-Palestine marches but not Tommy Robinson ones – as it happened

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch during a visit in Essex Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

5.30pm BST

Afternoon summary

• The former Green leader Caroline Lucas has called for the party to take immediate action against candidates who have made antisemitic comments or posts, following a series of cases before Thursday’s elections.

• Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, has defended her argument that that pro-Palestine marches should be banned because they platform antisemitism, but that marches organised by the far-right activist Tommy Robinson should be allowed. (See 12.57pm.) She was speaking in an interview on the Today programme where she also questioned whether the undisclosed £5m donation given to Nigel Farage by a crypto billionaire meant that he has been “bought” (see 12.33pm), and described Donald Trump as ‘very erratic” (see 12.40pm). Badenoch also criticised Trump for not having a plan for Iran. Responding to her comments about Trump, Calum Miller, the Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesperson, said:

This is the height of hypocrisy from Kemi Badenoch, who was only too happy initially to cheer on Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s idiotic war. She only highlights her own lack of foresight when she was a cheerleader for a conflict, and now expresses concern about the lack of a strategy once the consequences become politically inconvenient.

• Labour should not be “doomscrolling” through leaders like the Conservatives, the communities secretary, Steve Reed, has said, urging MPs not to move against Keir Starmer after the May elections.

For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.

5.16pm BST