Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 10 Sep 2019

1. Parliament suspended in chaotic scenes

Parliament has been suspended for five weeks after opposition MPs again turned down Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s call for an early October general election. The prorogation began at 2am amid chaotic protests in the Commons, with MPs holding signs, shouting and singing songs including the Red Flag and Jerusalem.

Parliament prorogued as Johnson fails in snap election bid

2. MPs forcing Johnson to publish no-deal documents

MPs in the Commons yesterday used the last day ahead of Parliament’s suspension to pass an order requiring the Government to publish documents relating to plans for a no-deal Brexit and emails sent by aides including Boris Johnson’s right-hand man Dominic Cummings. A bill intended to block no-deal also passed into law, but opposition MPs suggest the prime minister is looking for loopholes to avoid having to ask Brussels for an extension to the withdrawal deadline.

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

3. May criticised for honouring ‘terrible twin’ advisers

Former PM Theresa May has been accused of cronyism after it emerged she has honoured her 2017 election advisers Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill with CBEs, even though they were forced to resign after the Tory party lost 13 seats. One former MP who lost his seat said the news would “go down like a cup of very cold sick”.

Why is Theresa May’s honours list under fire?

4. Bomb in Londonderry was ‘attempt to kill police’

An explosive device found in a search of homes in Londonderry was planted by the New IRA in a bid to murder police officers, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has warned. More than 40 petrol bombs and other missiles were thrown at officers and their vehicles as they searched the Creggan Heights area of Derry yesterday.

5. Trump denies knowing US air force crews were lodged at his hotel

Donald Trump has insisted he knew nothing about US air force crews staying at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland at taxpayers’ expense during fuelling stops at nearby Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Democratic Congress members are investigating possible ethics breaches, while the air force is reviewing policies on “lodging at higher-end accommodations”.

6. Readers queue to buy Handmaid’s Tale sequel

Fans of Canadian author Margaret Atwood queued at bookshops around the world last night for the midnight release of the sequel to her 1985 dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale. Atwood attended the London launch of The Testaments, and was joined by fellow authors Neil Gaiman and Jeanette Winterson.

7. All watches ‘must be banned from exams’

The wearing of watches must be banned in exams to prevent cheating, an inquiry into exam malpractice has said. Smartwatches, which connect to the internet, are already prohibited but it is becoming too difficult to tell them from ordinary timepieces, according to a commission set up by UK exam boards.

8. Scientists warn of danger posed by telepathy

So-called brain hacks – computer enhancements to the human brain – mean “people could become telepathic to some degree” in the future, leading scientists at the UK’s Royal Society have predicted. A newly published report from the group says such devices need to be investigated and should not be controlled by a “handful of companies”, amid growing concerns over ethical issues.

9. Driver accused of stealing $90,000 worth of cakes

A New York delivery driver has pleaded guilty to petit larceny after being accused of stealing cakes worth more than $90,000 (£73,000) from a high-class bakery. David Lliviganay, 32, is said to have nabbed 1,020 of the $90-a-piece cakes from Lady M Confections in Long Island over the course of a few months, in order to sell them on the black market.

10. Briefing: Brexit uncertainty in four charts

Boris Johnson wants to deliver Brexit, with or without a deal. Of this he is certain. But Brexit-related policy uncertainty is on the rise and this is already harming the UK economy.

The following four graphs show the extent that the UK is at risk of a recession.

Brexit uncertainty: the impact on the UK economy in four charts