The blacklisting story, which emerged into the public eye in a slow trickle, is starting to turn into a torrent, with coverage in the last 24 hours on the Today programme, Channel 4 and The Times.

And this afternoon there was a decent turnout in the Commons as MPs debated the issue – and whether there is cause for a public investigation.

We wrote back in October that the UK building industry could face compensation claims running to hundreds of millions after a legal battle was launched by workers who say they were in effect barred from construction sites by a blacklist. Read more

New freedoms for developers to turn office blocks into flats will expire in two years under a compromise after a long-running battle by Vince Cable against the proposals.

I revealed yesterday that the government was set to make it easier for companies to convert offices into residential without seeking planning permission.

But it turns out that the business secretary has also carved out other exemptions to the rules – which are likely to be announced later this week- so that they will not apply to shops, hotels or industrial parks.

Meanwhile any council will be free to appeal against conversions where they are able to make an “exceptional case” that the change would be bad for employment in their area.

Mr Cable had fought the proposals on the basis that they could damage employment while Read more