Election round-up: In my defence...

The former chair of the Stop the War coalition will argue he is "not a pacifist" as he acknowledges that "military action... is in some circumstances necessary".

The address follows the leak of the Labour 2017 manifesto on Wednesday night, which restates the party's commitment to renewing Trident but calls for a fresh review of the country's defence capabilities.

There are reports that a line stating "Any prime minister should be extremely cautious about ordering the use of weapons of mass destruction" was cut from the draft document following a meeting of party leaders yesterday.

It comes as:

- Theresa May prepares to address a campaign rally in the North East, in which she will accuse Mr Corbyn of deserting "proud and patriotic working class people." The Tory leader will argue that a Labour government will mean "more debt, fewer jobs, higher taxes and it would weaken Britain’s bargaining position on Brexit".

- The full list of general election candidates is released following yesterday's deadline for nominations. These appear to show that Ukip have stood down in Morley and Outwood, where pro-Brexit MP Andrea Jenkyns ousted Labour's Ed Balls by just 422 votes in 2015, and also in Shipley, where incumbent Tory MP Philip Davies was recently described by Paul Nuttall as "probably [having] more in common with Ukip than anybody else".

- Brexit Secretary David Davis claims European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker was trying to force him out of his job. Mr Davis told the Daily Telegraph: "All these stories are briefing against me, trying to get me sacked - which, of course, is a compliment by the way. If they don't want me across the table, there is a reason for that - it is in Britain's interests, not theirs."

- The Green Party has stood down its candidate in Hastings and Rye in East Sussex in an effort to oust Home Secretary Amber Rudd from her seat. In a statement, the party said they agreed their candidate Julia Hilton would not submit her nomination in return for various pledges from the local Labour Party if its candidate is elected.

- It emerged that Theresa May will be challenged in her Maidenhead constituency by a candidate calling themselves "Lord Buckethead". Buzzfeed are speculating whether this is the same Lord Buckethead who stood against Margaret Thatcher in 1987...