Nick Ferrari - The Whole Show

A rape victim has condemned the judge at the centre of a sentencing row for allowing her attacker to walk out of court without a custodial sentence. Judge Ian Lawrie KC sparked outrage after handing a restraining order to a teenager who repeatedly stabbed a girl in Cirencester. The Chancellor draws criticism for downing a pint after he puts up alcohol duty and does little to ease other cost pressures for publicans. And employers are warned to beware of boozy events such as office Hallowe’en parties as they could face legal action if they fail to tackle “suggestive looks” from their staff under new workplace harassment rules.

In his first budget, the chancellor said 20 million households in council tax bands A to D would receive a £100 payment – a measure he said would cost £2.6bn. Spain begins three days of mourning after a high-speed train collision kills dozens. And Ofcom sets out its recommendations for the most effective ways to identify which of the UK's millions of social media users are aged over 16.

Chancellor John Healey will deliver his maiden Budget today, offering short-term help for households and businesses facing a tough winter and longer-term plans to bring down Britain’s high energy prices - including the scrapping of standing charges on gas bills. The mother of a girl who died after being attacked by a 14-year-old boy with a six-inch kitchen knife calls his community sentence ‘disgraceful’ after the judge called him a "bright lad". And the long-term jobless reject Labour's £1.2bn back-to-work policy after the number joining up in the first year of the scheme was way below target.

Consultant doctors in England are to stage a two-day strike next month in a dispute over pay and working conditions. A man has said he was left "baffled" after a pub refused him entry because he was wearing a poppy that could be interpreted as "a political statement". And just hours into the launch, cyclists are continuing to ride through the newly pedestrianised stretch of Oxford Street in London.

Andy Burnham said a new relationship with Brussels could include full EU membership or joining the single market, requiring free movement. Chancellor John Healey plans to offer a tax reprieve for pensioners by increasing the personal allowance for low-income pensioners in Wednesday's Budget. And Mayor of London Lord Sadiq Khan hails the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street as “a truly momentous occasion for the capital” as a mile-long stretch becomes traffic-free from today.