Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 2 Sep 2019

1. Johnson tells Tories: ‘Rebel and lose the whip’

Boris Johnson last night warned Tory MPs planning to rebel against a no-deal Brexit that he will throw them out of the party and stop them from standing as Conservatives at the next general election. The threat comes as MPs prepare to return from their summer recess tomorrow, with the so-called rebel alliance expected to try to block a no-deal Brexit.

Today’s newspapers: ‘Bullish Boris ready to walk away’

2. Leaked report: all backstop alternatives are problematic

All potential British solutions to the post-Brexit Irish border problem are fraught with difficulty and would leave smaller businesses struggling to cope, experts say. The concerns are outlined in a leaked report summarising the findings of working groups set up by the Government to find alternatives to the backstop plan that Theresa May agreed with the EU, according to The Guardian.

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Boris Johnson’s alternative to the Irish backstop

3. UK ‘may deploy drones to Gulf as crisis escalates’

RAF Reaper drones flying over Syria and Iraq from Kuwait may be redirected to the Gulf to help keep track of British-registered ships sailing the Strait of Hormuz, an unnamed “senior naval officer” has told Sky News. The plan comes as the diplomatic crisis between Iran and the US and its allies continues to escalate following Tehran’s seizure of a British flagged oil tanker in July.

4. New teachers’ salary set to rise to £30,000

Starting salaries for teachers in England may increase by up to £6,000 under new government plans. Unions say the increase - which would see new teachers’ salaries hit £30,000 by 2022-2023 - is the only way to attract graduates to the job. The proposal is one of several boosts to education spending announced in recent days.

5. Far-right surge in German election

The anti-immigration, far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has made significant gains in German regional elections – though not as great as analysts had predicted. Preliminary results suggest the centre-right Christian Democrats remain the largest party in Saxony, while in Brandenburg the AfD is expected to finish second, behind the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD).

6. Hurricane Dorian slams into Bahamas

The most powerful Caribbean hurricane yet recorded made landfall on the Bahamas in the early hours this morning, with 180mph winds tearing roofs off buildings and rains causing severe flooding. Officials say a storm surge of 23ft could threaten lives. The US states of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas are in the storm’s path and on emergency footing.

Hurricane Dorian reaches historically catastrophic status

7. Wales: eco-community land to be sold for £1m

An eco-community on a Welsh hillside is to be sold for £1m after its founder decided to sell up. Current residents will be offered the first chance to buy Brithdir Mawr, which became a cause celebre in the 1990s when the local authority was persuaded not to demolish buildings with no planning permission.

8. Kenya: tour group swept away by flash flood

Two people are dead and five others missing after a tour group in Kenya was swept away by flash flooding. Authorities say five Kenyan tourists, one foreigner and a Kenyan tour guide were caught by waters in Hell’s Gate National Park, a landscape which inspired Disney’s The Lion King. Two bodies have been recovered.

9. Bletchley Park veterans urged to tell their secrets

Veterans who helped crack Nazi codes at Bletchley Park during the Second World War were urged to come forward and tell their stories on camera during an annual reunion this weekend. Almost 90,000 people, three-quarters of them women, worked at the intelligence facility in Buckinghamshire at its peak. The youngest former employees are now in their 90s.

Lady Trumpington dies: who were the women of Bletchley Park?

10. Briefing: will China invade Hong Kong?

China has reportedly rotated fresh troops into its Hong Kong border garrison, prompting new fears of a crackdown on the ongoing anti-government protests in the city-state.

The future of Beijing’s approach to Hong Kong appears to be hanging in the balance.

Will China invade Hong Kong?