CRIME CHIEF QUITS LABOUR PARTY

South Yorkshire police and crime commissioner Shaun Wright has resigned from the Labour Party, but insisted he would not leave his post.

Mr Wright's resignation came after Labour threatened to suspend him unless he stepped down in the wake of a damning report into child abuse in Rotherham.

He has faced repeated calls to quit because he was the Rotherham Council cabinet member for children's services between 2005 and 2010.

NO 10: NO US AIR STRIKE REQUEST

Britain joining strikes against jihadists has not been requested and is not currently under discussion, Downing Street has insisted, despite reports that Barack Obama is hoping to win agreement to bring allies into the air campaign by next week's Nato summit.

The United States has launched scores of bombing attacks on Islamic State (IS) militants in northern Iraq in a bid to assist Kurdish and Iraqi forces in their fightback.

Reports in The Times said the Pentagon had been exploring whether western allies such as Britain and Australia, and allied Gulf states, would assist in a broader campaign in Syria against the group, which was formerly known as Isil.

£160M BOOST FOR CANCER DRUGS FUND

Thousands more cancer patients in England will be offered vital treatments in a £160 million boost to the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF), the Department of Health said today.

The fund, which has helped more than 55,000 cancer patients since it was set up four years ago, will be increased from £200 million a year to £280 million a year.

The move will mean many more patients with rare conditions will benefit from life-extending drugs recommended by their doctor.

CAMERON PLEA OVER AFGHAN GOVERNMENT

David Cameron has urged both of Afghanistan's presidential candidates to work towards the "prize" of a democratic unity government in time for the Nato summit in Wales next month.

The Prime Minister called Dr Ashraf Ghani and Dr Abdullah Abdullah yesterday and urged them to stick with a process outlined by US Secretary of State John Kerry.

The pair topped a first round of elections in April but, following claims of electoral fraud, a victor was not declared following a second round run-off in June.

BRITAIN IS 'DEEPLY ELITIST SOCIETY'

Britain is still "deeply elitist" with privately-educated pupils and Oxbridge graduates continuing to dominate top roles in society, a major new report warns.

Many of the nation's judges, politicians, armed forces chiefs, journalists, TV executives, public officials and sports stars attended fee-paying schools before going to study at Oxford and Cambridge, it suggests.

This stark lack of diversity means that many of Britain's key institutions are not representative of the public they serve, and the people running them may not understand the daily issues facing people from different backgrounds, according to the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission.

LATEST MIGRATION STATISTICS DUE

The Government's attempts to slash net migration to the tens of thousands will come under the spotlight today as official figures are released amid increased debate over the inclusion of international students in the target.

Migration statistics for the 12 months to March will be published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) just days after the publication of a report suggesting overseas students should be removed from immigration targets.

An ICM opinion poll suggested that the British public does not see international students as immigrants and are opposed to attempts to reduce their number in a bid to lower net immigration.

CAMERON PRAISES 'SINGLE MARKET' UK

The Prime Minister will hail the UK as one of the world's "oldest and most successful single markets" as he campaigns to keep the country together.

With just three weeks to go until the independence referendum, David Cameron will address the business organisation CBI Scotland's annual dinner in Glasgow this evening.

The Conservative leader will use his trip north to make the business case for Scotland remaining in the UK.

EX-GLADIATOR DAVID LEAVES BB ARENA

Kelly Brook is celebrating being reunited with her fiance after he became the first housemate to be evicted from Celebrity Big Brother.

Former Gladiator David McIntosh was booted out of the reality TV show after receiving the fewest votes.

And lingerie model Brook could barely contain her excitement at seeing her betrothed again, immediately tweeting after his departure was announced and he danced his way down the steps out of the house.

PARENTS 'MISSING MEALS' TO PAY RENT

An estimated 880,000 working parents in England have resorted to skipping meals in the last year in order to cover their mortgage or rent, according to research from Shelter.

The charity said that 10.5% of working adults with children said they or their partner had missed meals in the last 12 months to help pay for their home, equating to 880,000 parents, if the figures are projected across the country.

Working parents with children aged under 18 were asked about steps they had had to take over the last year in order to meet their housing costs.

DEPRESSED CANCER PATIENTS 'IGNORED'

Large numbers of cancer patients suffer from major depression and in the vast majority of cases their mental anguish is being overlooked or ignored, a study has found.

A survey of more than 21,000 patients in Scotland found rates of clinical depression ranging from 6% to 13%, compared with a prevalence of just 2% in the general population.

Of the 1,130 who had been diagnosed, almost three quarters (73%) were not receiving any kind of effective treatment.