Farage rejects link between Jo Cox murder and referendum campaign

Video report by ITV News Political Editor Robert Peston

A battle of words erupted between Nigel Farage and David Cameron over a recent controversial Ukip poster, which suggested migrants had pushed Britain to "breaking point".

Mr Farage stood by the poster, and also accused the prime minister of linking the motives of Jo Cox's alleged killer to the Leave campaign.

With the EU referendum just days away, campaign rhetoric on both sides of the EU debate continues to intensify.

Nigel Farage has rejected any association between the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox and the Leave campaign.

Speaking at a final "We Want Our Country Back" EU referendum campaign event in Gateshead, Mr Farage said: "That man acted in isolation. What that man did was an act of barbarism and every one of us who will go out to vote to leave condemns utterly and thoroughly what he did."

A board member of the Vote Leave campaign has resigned, reports the Guardian, after the newspaper asked the businesswoman about apparently anti-Muslim retweets and tweets from her Twitter account.

Arabella Arkwright insisted she abhors racism, telling the Guardian: “I would like to make it absolutely clear that my RTs (retweets) and forwarding do not mean that I endorse in any way the content of them. I RT a wide variety of different views on issues related to the referendum with which I do not agree in order that others can see the breadth of opinion on these matters. Is there anything wrong in that?"

Vote Leave said it had asked Arkwright to hand in her resignation.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said he is "not a lover of the European Union".

Responding to questions from young voters at a Sky News event, the Labour leader said remaining in the EU is a "rational decision" Britain should take in order to try and improve it.

Mr Corbyn added that he would still want to work with people across Europe on environmental protection, public ownership issues.

"I think we'd get a long way down the line like that," he said.

The EU must change "dramatically" if Britain votes to remain in the union, Jeremy Corbyn has said.

The Labour leader said the institution has to become much more democratic and accountable.

Facing questions from young voters on Sky News, Mr Corbyn said the EU should "share our wealth and improve our living standards and our working conditions all across the whole continent".

Mr Corbyn said his support for remaining in the EU was "not unconditional by any means" and listed a number of problems with the institution.

The Labour leader added that he is opposed to the way "Europe shields tax havens" and they way in which large companies "are exploiting loopholes in employment laws".

Mr Corbyn said if he becomes prime minister after the 2020 general election, he would defy EU rules and protect the UK steel industry and renationalise the railways.

Protesting children have gathered in Gateshead ahead of a speech Nigel Farage is to give in tonight at the Sage concert venue.

One sign reads "Nigel, I'm at breaking point with you", in reference to a controversial poster unveiled by the Ukip leader which has been criticised by both sides of the referendum debate.

Voting to the remain within the EU will not affect the NHS, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said.

Facing questions from young voters on Sky News, Mr Corbyn said the would defend the NHS "to the end" because it is "the most civilised thing about this country".

"We've already got a guarantee of exemption of the NHS on this," he said. "I think it is more likely that a vote to leave would do more damage to the NHS because of the economic consequences that go with it.

Many people probably do not understand the EU referendum, Jeremy Corbyn has said.

Answering young voters' questions on Sky News, Mr Corbyn said the debate has been dominated by the political class, but added that he hoped interest in the debate would intensify in the remaining days leading up to the vote.

"People I hope will think seriously about it - it's a big decision," he said.

"If we leave I don't think there's an easy road back. If we remain I think Europe has got to change quite dramatically to something much more democratic, much more accountable and share our wealth and improve our living standards and working conditions."

Sayeeda Warsi said that she will vote Remain despite saying she has campaigned for Brexit for a year because she could not stand by the Leave campaign's "divisive" and "xenophobic" message.

Baroness Warsi said she had been concerned about the "lies that have been told" and the posters used by campaigners.

"What we've consistently heard over the last two months is that the Turks are coming, the terrorists are coming, the Syrians are coming," she said. "This is not the kind of campaign that we should be running."

She hit back at Vote Leave, who said they were not aware that Lady Warsi had joined its campaign" saying that she started campaigning for a Brexit a year ago "long before Vote Leave even existed".