BBC: Hague knew about Ashcroft tax status in 2000 – 8 in the morning, March 18th

8am

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

* BBC alleges William Hague knew about Lord Ashcroft’s tax status in 2000, much earlier than previously claimed.

* After another day of Tory attacks on Charlie Whelan, the Guardian plays down his “informal” role, saying “it is away from No 10 where his presence is felt most.”

* Evoking the pager system introduced by New Labour in the mid-nineties, Conservative candidates will be kepy on message with new iPhone and BlackBerry applications.

* Tensions between speaker John Bercow and Conservative MPs escalate.

* The Fabians’ Stuart White questions Labour activists’ confidence in the government’s policy on retention of DNA samples.

* George Osborne risks repeating John Smith’s mistakes of 1992 in next week’s budget, argues the Times’ Anatole Kaletsky.

* Nadine Dorries is involved in a plot to damage Esther Rantzen’s election campaign in Luton South, reports the Telegraph.

* The Conservatives drop a point in the latest YouGov poll, bringing the gap with Labour to four percent.

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