General election 2017: Ukip says May must bear 'some responsibility' for Manchester attack – as it happened

Afternoon summary

• Ukip has sought to cast itself, after the Manchester Arena attack, as the party taking strong action against Islamic terrorism, using its manifesto launch to outline policies on security and immigration.

• Amber Rudd, the home secretary, has rejected a claim by Ukip’s deputy chairman that Theresa May must bear “some responsibility” for the Manchester Arena attack. (See 2.10pm.)

• The Conservatives have raised more than £1.6m during the second week of the general election campaign, more than doubling the combined donations to all the other political parties over the same period, figures show.

• A surge in the number of Polish people and other European citizens leaving the UK since the Brexit vote means there has been an 84,000 drop in the UK net migration figure, to 248,000, the lowest level for nearly three years. The Institute of Directors said the figures should be a “big worry” for employers. Seamus Nevin, the IoD’s head of employment and skills policy, said:

Today’s migration figures underline the importance of immigration to the UK workforce and are a warning of the damage a significant reduction could do. Alarmingly, the fall in net migration is being driven as much by people leaving as by fewer arriving. This is a big worry for employers who risk losing key members of staff in positions that cannot easily be replaced from the home-grown pool available. The IoD has repeatedly called for the government to guarantee the status of EU migrants already living here. Doing so would allow businesses to start planning for the future.

There is a well expressed public desire for increased control of immigration but all parties in the general election should set out clearly the costs of any proposals they make. The Office for Budget Responsibility have calculated that cutting immigration to the “tens of thousands” would add £6bn a year to the national deficit, just in terms of the direct reduction in the taxes collected and so not including wider economic impacts.

That’s all from me for today.

Thanks for the comments.