Calls mount for police to probe alleged ‘family voting’ in the Manchester by-election after poll monitors reported voters being directed inside booths. Senior politicians demand swift action to safeguard ballot integrity and determine whether electoral rules were breached.

Ian Huntley is in a critical condition after an incident in a workshop at HMP Frankland. A fellow inmate was detained on suspicion of carrying out the attack. Huntley, 52, had been working within a segregated unit. Prison safety procedures and supervision are under review.

Scotland Yard apologised to the Commons Speaker amid a row over Peter Mandelson’s arrest. Detectives said they acted on a tip he might flee to the British Virgin Islands; Sir Lindsay Hoyle says he passed the claim on in good faith. Mandelson’s lawyers demand evidence for the allegation.

Leaked Green Party papers propose scrapping immigration detention, granting an amnesty to people with irregular status and providing housing, a guaranteed income and NHS access, even after failed asylum bids. Backers call it humane and orderly; critics warn of cost and a pull factor.