Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Tuesday 24 Sep 2019

1. Johnson refuses to rule out second prorogation

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has refused to rule out suspending Parliament for a second time if the Supreme Court rules his decision to prorogue was unlawful. The UK’s highest court is expected to give its verdict at 10.30am today and the Government has said it will “abide by the ruling”. Johnson has been accused of closing Parliament to stop MPs from debating Brexit.

Supreme Court: how Britain’s highest court works

2. Thomas Cook holidaymakers return as anger grows

The Government has begun a repatriation effort to bring home some 150,000 tourists left stranded by the collapse of Thomas Cook - at an estimated cost of £100m to the taxpayer. The rescue operation comes amid growing anger over the multimillion-pound sums received by bosses at the travel firm before it went into liquidation yesterday, with Boris Johnson also questioning the payouts.

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Historic airlift to be launched as Thomas Cook collapses

3. ‘Stitch-up’ claims as Corbyn wins Brexit vote

Pro-Remain Labour supporters have accused Jeremy Corbyn of overseeing a “stitch-up” after the party yesterday voted against officially embracing a pro-EU membership stance. The motion was put to a show of hands at the Labour conference in Brighton, rather than to a formal vote of eligible members. The result ends hopes of Labour backing Remain, with the party instead remaining neutral.

Jeremy Corbyn enjoys major Brexit victory at Labour conference

4. Heavy rain, hail and wind to cause disruption

Commuters have been warned to expect disruption today after the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for most of England and part of Wales from the early hours onwards. Flooding is anticipated, with between 1.2in and 2in of rain forecast to fall in just three hours in some areas.

5. Demi Moore: man who raped me as teen paid my mother

Actor Demi Moore claims in her new autobiography that her mother took $500 (£400) from a man who raped Moore when she was 15 and who later said Virginia had “whored” her daughter. Moore told TV show Good Morning America she did not believe the rape was a “straightforward transaction” but said her mother, Virginia King, had given the man access.

6. Obesity not caused by lack of willpower, say psychologists

The British Psychological Society is calling for a new attitude to obesity from government and society, saying that being overweight is not a choice or the result of a lack of willpower. A new report from the representative body says that obesity is shaped by genetic risk, work or school environments, psychological trauma and even social deprivation.

7. Ex-priest admits link to 1984 IRA bombing

An ex-priest once described by Margaret Thatcher as having “expert knowledge of bombing” has admitted links to the 1984 attack on the Conservative Party conference in Brighton. Patrick Ryan told the BBC he was “100%” connected to the attack, in which five people died and Norman Tebbit’s wife was paralysed.

8. MI5 ignored Cold War spy tip from ‘spurned wife’

Newly declassified files at the National Archives reveal that MI5 ignored a tip that a clerk in a top secret military establishment was passing secrets to the Russians because it came from his “spurned” wife. Harry Houghton and his new lover Ethel Gee were eventually arrested four years after the tip-off was received, and were each sentenced to 15 years in prison.

9. German court rules hangovers count as ‘illness’

A court in Germany has ruled that hangovers are a form of “illness”, after a drinks firm that markets “anti-hangover” shots and drink powders was accused of making illegal health claims. The Frankfurt court agreed with the allegation, on the basis that a hangover is an illness and that it therefore is possible to make misleading claims about curing it.

10. Briefing: five potential clashes at the UN General Assembly

The annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is set to take place this week, with at least 60 world leaders due to descend on the body’s New York City headquarters for a series of talks on topics ranging from climate change to the Middle East.

The stakes have rarely been higher.

UN General Assembly: five global clashes to watch out for