Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 24 May 2019

1. Theresa May expected to name leaving date

Theresa May has announced she will stand down as Conservative leader on 7 June, triggering a leadership contest that will have a profound effect on the direction of Brexit. Speaking outside No. 10 this morning, the PM said: “I have done everything I can to convince MPs to back [her Brexit] deal...sadly, I have not been able to do so.” May’s “closest allies” told the Daily Mirror that the PM accepted she has become a stumbling block to delivering on the EU referendum result.

What is Boris Johnson’s plan for Brexit?

2. EU citizens ‘may sue over election fiasco’

The British government may face legal action from EU nationals living in the UK after administrative errors by local councils meant they were unable to vote in yesterday’s EU election, experts say. The Guardian claims to have been contacted by more than 500 people whose names were crossed off the register by mistake. Labour MP David Lammy said the election system amounted to “ugly discrimination” for people who had have been forced “to apply to stay in their own homes”.

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Why EU citizens were turned away from polling stations

3. Petrol bombs thrown at Londonderry police

Petrol bombs were hurled at police officers in Derry City yesterday as they responded to reports of a suspicious device found near a primary school being used as a polling station. One of the bombs was thrown in Glengalliagh Park, near where children were playing. Two boys aged 17 and another aged 12 have been arrested.

4. Assange faces new charges over WikiLeaks

The US Justice Department has filed 17 new charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, in addition to the solitary charge brought last month. The new charges accuse him of publishing the names of US military sources, putting their lives at risk. The 47-year-old is serving a 50-week sentence in the UK for skipping bail.

5. Global school climate strike to be biggest yet

Today’s strike by school pupils and other young people calling for action on climate change is expected to be the biggest yet, organisers say. Strikes are planned in 110 countries and 1,400 cities worldwide, with the total number of protesters set to top the previous record of 1.4 million people who took part in a strike in March.

6. Trump to bring all of his children on UK trip

US President Donald Trump is to accompanied by all four of his adult children when he makes a state visit to the UK next month – and they will all be bringing their spouses. Donald Jr divorced last year but is expected to be joined by his girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former newsreader on his father’s favoured Fox News.

7. Verve singer Ashcroft ends dispute with Stones

Singer-songwriter Richard Ashcroft says his long-running legal dispute with The Rolling Stones is finally over, 22 years after his band The Verve were forced to sign over the rights to their hit Bitter Sweet Symphony to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. The dispute began shortly after the release of the song, in 1997, because it samples an orchestral version of Stones’ song The Last Time. Jagger and Richards have now volunteered to sign all future royalties over to Ashcroft.

8. Doctors warn of serious injury from dog leads

Surgeons who specialise in hands are warning dog walkers not to wrap leads around their fingers or wrists, in order to avoid the risk of sustaining serious injuries if their pet bolts. The British Society for Surgery of the Hand says potential injuries include lacerations, friction burns and even “de-gloving” - when a finger is stripped of skin and tissue.

9. Royal Mint selling gold sovereign for £100,000

The Royal Mint is selling an extremely rare George III gold sovereign, one of only 3,574 struck in 1819, of which just ten remain extant. Purchasers have to enter a ballot for the chance to buy the coin at a fixed price of £100,000. The Mint said the coin had been sourced and verified by its own experts on historic coins and declared genuine.

10. Briefing: is facial recognition technology safe?

The first major legal challenge to the use of automated facial recognition (AFR) surveillance by British police begins this week.

Supporters claim facial recognition technology “will boost the safety of citizens and could help police catch criminals and potential terrorists”, reports The Daily Telegraph. But critics have labelled it “Orwellian” and say police have not been “transparent” about how they will use the data.

Is facial recognition technology safe?