The news this morning that the information commissioner has ruled in favour of disclosure of royal correspondence could have profound repercussions for the monarchy and the British constitution.

When the Freedom of Information Act was introduced the monarchy was simply not recognised as a public body, so the remit of the act failed to get past the gates of Buckingham Palace. Correspondence between the palace and public authorities that are covered by the act was exempted under section 37. There was, however, a public interest test, meaning that if it could be demonstrated that it was in the public interest to release information then the information must be released.

The UK looks set to have its first ever televised leader election debates after a deal was struck between the three big parties and the main broadcasters.

Labour's Gordon Brown, Conservative leader David Cameron and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg have agreed to go head-to-head in a series of three debates.

Each clash will last about 90 minutes, with the first shown on ITV, the second on Sky, and the third on the BBC.

But the SNP and Plaid Cymru say they should be allowed to take part too.

Live presidential debates in the US and other countries have provided many of the key moments of election campaigns and are seen as having raised voters' interest.

The "Arbeit macht frei" sign stolen from Auschwitz in southern Poland has been found in the north and five men are being questioned by police.

The five suspects, aged in their 20s and 30s, were not members of a neo-Nazi group, Krakow police said.

The metal sign from the main gate, which symbolises for many the atrocities of Nazi Germany, had been cut into three pieces, they added.

A major search was launched after the sign was stolen before dawn on Frida

he European Parliament has approved a 122.9bn euro (£110bn) EU budget for 2010 - nearly half of which is to go to agriculture and natural resources.

It is a 6% increase on the 2009 budget, which was worth 116bn euros.

Next year the EU is due to conduct a major review of the budget. The UK wants to see a cut in farm subsidies.

In 2010 an extra 2.4bn euros will go towards economic recovery projects, with the energy sector and broadband development the priorities.

Police will continue to retain the personal details of everyone they arrest, despite a human rights ruling meaning the DNA profiles they are linked to must be deleted.

The European Court of Human Rights said last year that DNA data should not be indefinitely retained from those who have not been charged or convicted.

The government plans to delete some such profiles, hoping to bring the UK into line with the law, but it's emerged they do not plan to delete the accompanying identity data on the Police National Computer.

In 2005, changes to DNA procedures meant a PNC record was created each time a sample was taken, The Observer reports. These records won't be deleted as part of the response to the human rights ruling.

Guest post by my sister who was trapped on the Eurostar train last night. These are her observations and experiences:


My journey from Paris to London this weekend:
I was supposed to get the ill fated 9.13pm train from Paris on Friday night but I missed it due to train delays from Lyon.
I stayed the night in Paris at a hotel which was provided for by a Eurostar voucher. We were told to return early Saturday morning.
At 5.30 am, I waited by the Eurostar desk at Gare du Nord for the 7.13 am train. The staff at that point knew that a train had been stuck all night and didn't know when a train would be running again. We were repeatedly told to 'go away' and come back the next day 'maybe there would be a train'. Passengers responded with 'Go where?'. Staff had no information.

Evidence that the British army subjected prisoners in Northern Ireland to waterboarding during interrogations in the 1970s is emerging after one of the alleged victims launched an appeal against his conviction for murder.

Liam Holden became the last person in the United Kingdom to be sentenced to hang after being convicted in 1973 of the murder of a soldier, largely on the basis of an unsigned confession. His death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment and he spent 17 years behind bars.

The jury did not believe Holden's insistence that he made the confession only because he had been held down by members of the Parachute Regiment, whom he says placed a towel over his face before pouring water from a bucket over his nose and mouth, giving him the impression that he was drowning.

But now the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has referred Holden's case to the court of appeal in Belfast after unearthing new evidence, and because of doubts about "the admissibility and reliability" of his confession. The commission says it believes "there is a real possibility" his conviction will be quashed. After a preliminary hearing earlier this month, Holden's appeal was adjourned to the new year.

However, the account that Holden gave at his trial is remarkably similar to those that have emerged since the CIA began using waterboarding techniques while interrogating al-Qaida suspects during the so-called war on terror.

Meanwhile, by 52 to 44 per cent, the public agrees with the statement that "a Conservative Government would mainly represent the interests of the well-off rather than ordinary people".