Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 4 Apr 2019

1. MPs vote by margin of one to block no-deal

The Government last night suffered the second-biggest Commons defeat in modern times, with MPs voting by a margin of one to block a no-deal Brexit by forcing the prime minister to ask for an extension from the EU instead. Meanwhile, talks between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn yesterday aimed at ending the deadlock were said by Downing Street to have been “productive”.

2. DUP suggests it might accept customs union

Northern Irish political party the DUP has suggested it might back the UK staying in a customs union with the EU after Brexit as a “temporary staging post”. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson held out the possibility during a BBC interview yesterday afternoon, adding that the DUP wants a form of Brexit that “keeps the United Kingdom together”.

3. Erdogan party ‘bad losers’ says Istanbul ‘winner’

Turkish opposition politician Ekrem Imamoglu has said the ruling AKP coalition are bad losers and “not polite”, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government challenges the results of local elections in Istanbul. Imamoglu, of the CHP, insists he is the city’s new mayor after winning by some 25,000 votes, but the AKP has put up posters across Istanbul that claim their candidate, Binali Yildirim, was the victor.

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4. Windrush victims to get £200m compensation

Thousands of long-term British residents who were deported, or threatened with deportation, after wrongly being classified as illegal immigrants by the Home Office are to be compensated. Home Secretary Sajid Javid yesterday announced that the Government was setting aside £200m to pay damages to members of the so-called Windrush generation.

5. Pro-Brexit Facebook ads ‘secretly run by Crosby firm’

A series of “hugely influential” pro-Brexit Facebook adverts that appear to come from separate grass-roots groups are secretly being overseen by employees of Sir Lynton Crosby’s lobbying company and a former adviser to Boris Johnson, The Guardian is reporting. The groups named by the newspaper include Mainstream Network and Britain’s Future, which are calling for MPs to vote for a no-deal Brexit.

6. Michelle Williams ‘paralysed’ by pay disparity

US actor Michelle Williams says she was “paralysed” when she learned she had been paid $1,000 for re-shoots on the film All the Money in the World while her co-star Mark Wahlberg earned $1.5m. Following a public outcry, Wahlberg has donated his fee to charity.

7. Wintry conditions to disrupt commuters

The Met Office has put in place a yellow weather warning for snow in parts of central and southern Wales this morning and is warning commuters in parts of England that rain and sleet could affect driving conditions. Icy roads were also expected this morning, with temperatures overnight as low as -2.9C in Santon Downham in Suffolk.

8. Failing to put sunblock on eyelids ‘cancer risk’

Researchers have found that many people are increasing their risk of cancer by failing to put sunblock on their eyelids – though sunglasses with UV-filtering lenses could help. The team at the University of Liverpool also found that using moisturiser with SPF (sun protection factor) instead of sunblock may also present a risk as it is generally applied less rigorously.

9. Dutch team stumbles on 1540 shipwreck

A Dutch salvage team searching for containers washed off the deck of a cargo vessel in January have stumbled upon an astonishing archaeological find: the oldest wrecked ship ever found in Dutch waters. The 100ft vessel, which dates back to 1540, was carrying up to five tonnes of copper plates, some of which have been salvaged.

10. How the Queen would announce nuclear war

“Not for a single moment did I imagine that this solemn and awful duty would one day fall to me,” reads Cold War draft speech.

How the Queen would announce nuclear war