Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 26 Jun 2019

1. Johnson and Hunt at odds over Brexit

Conservative leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt last night insisted that the 31 October date for Britain to leave the EU is a “fake deadline” and said he would only consider a no-deal Brexit if there was no “prospect of a better deal”. His stance is at odds with that of rival Boris Johnson, who said yesterday that he will take Britain out of the bloc by the autumn deadline “come what may, do or die”.

What the rest of the world thinks of Boris Johnson

2. Denmark elects youngest-ever prime minister

After three weeks of negotiations following an inconclusive election, Denmark has a new government – and its youngest-ever prime minister. Mette Frederiksen, 41, will lead a one-party minority administration. Denmark becomes the third Nordic country this year to elect a left-wing government.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

3. Two-child benefit cap ‘pushing families into poverty’

The first detailed study of the Government’s two-child benefit limit shows that the policy is pushing “millions of children deeper into poverty”, The Guardian reports. Nearly all the families affected by the cap - which is costing each of the households at least £53 a week in benefits support - say they are having to cut back on essentials such as food and medication.

4. Women exposed to air pollution risk early menopause, say scientists

Two separate studies have suggested a link between living with heavy air pollution and a risk of earlier menopause and infertility. The scientists behind the research, in Italy and the US, believe that such pollution may speed the ageing of women’s reproductive systems. A study in Modena found women living in the most polluted neighbourhoods were three times more likely to have a low ovarian reserve than those in the cleanest areas of the city.

Air pollution more deadly than smoking, says report

5. Serial killer Ian Brady mixed with vulnerable teens in jail

Moors Murderer Ian Brady had access to teenage boys for at least five years while in prison, newly released Home Office files reveal. The killer associated with boys as young as 15 - close to the age of some of the five children whom he and girlfriend Myra Hindley had tortured, sexually assaulted and murdered about a decade earlier, in the mid-1960s. One boy told the prison authorities that Brady had sex with him.

6. San Francisco bans sale of e-cigarettes amid safety fears

The city of San Francisco has become the first in the US to ban the sale and distribution of e-cigarettes, in a bid to curb the trend for vaping among teenagers. Activists point out that the health risks of the products are unknown and claim e-cigarette manufacturers are deliberately targeting young people by offering flavoured versions.

Why everyone’s talking about vaping

7. TV presenter Johnny Kingdom died in digger accident, inquest hears

TV presenter Johnny Kingdom died in an accident while using a digger on his farm in Devon, an inquest heard yesterday. The 79-year-old, known for wildlife documentaries and for his photography of Exmoor, was killed when the vehicle rolled over as he tried to move a log, crushing him. He was not wearing a seatbelt.

8. Fertility doctor loses licence for using own sperm

A retired fertility doctor in Canada has had his licence formally revoked for using his own sperm to inseminate patients on at least 13 occasions. Canada’s medical association said that Dr Norman Barwin’s actions were “beyond reprehensible” and that it was “unfortunate” the only sanction they had the power to impose was to revoke his licence.

9. Sheryl Crow: I lost all my master tapes in fire

Singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow has learned that the master tapes of her earlier albums were destroyed in a fire at Universal Studios in 2008. The US chart-topper told the BBC: “It absolutely grieves me. It feels a little apocalyptic.” Crow said she was angry that the tapes were not better protected and at the “cover-up” following their destruction, which she only found out about this month.

10. Briefing: the secrets of Oxford’s Bullingdon Club

Lavish rituals, opulent banquets, smashing up restaurants and trashing fellow students’ living quarters – the activities of Oxford University’s notorious Bullingdon Club are back in the headlines as two former members go head-to-head in the race to succeed Theresa May as prime minister.

So, what do we know about the Bullingdon Club?

Bullingdon Club: behind Oxford University’s elite society