5 things you need to know about Tuesdsay’s election campaign

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Theresa May confirms she is not like a Harry Potter character: Five important things we learnt yesterday

1. Theresa May is a fan of Harry Potter. The Prime Minister, who is believed to be a muggle, told youngsters in Birmingham she had read all of JK Rowling’s wizard adventures and thought they were ‘very good’. May said she did not believe she was like any of the characters in the series, but will no doubt face an extensive grilling on her knowledge of horcruxes and quidditch before the end of the campaign.

2. Journalists covering the Labour manifesto launch faced boos inside the venue and boobs outside it. BBC News anchor Ben Brown was slapped on the shoulder by a woman after he appeared to inadvertently touch her breast as he ushered her out of the way during a live interview. Brown said it was an ‘unfortunate interruption’ and ‘completely unintentional’. Inside the Bradford venue, journalists were jeered after asking Jeremy Corbyn tough questions – with the exception of the Morning Star’s correspondent. The Labour leader called for ‘respect for everyone’ and revealed he was a member of the journalists’ union.

3. The Liberal Democrats came up with a way to help caffeine-dependent reporters avoid their proposed 5p levy on disposable coffee cups, dishing out branded mugs to the press pack on the campaign battlebus. The bright yellow mugs feature a typically groan-worthy pun – ‘I’m a Beveridge’ – a reference to Liberal hero and welfare state pioneer William Beveridge.

4. Blue language led to blue-on-blue infighting as Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson condemned one of her English colleagues for ‘utterly inappropriate’ comments. James Heappey, who is hoping to retain the Wells seat in Somerset, reportedly joked that a schoolgirl should ‘f*** off back to Scotland’ after she said she supported independence. Davidson said: ‘I think that was utterly inappropriate, the wrong thing to do. It’s not language I would ever use, it was not language that I would want anyone to use, on a school visit of all things.’

5. Corbyn defended his leadership style, insisting that ‘being strong and standing up doesn’t necessarily mean shouting’. He was later spotted on the campaign trail using a megaphone to get his message across. That’s one way to avoid shouting.