Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 25 Sep 2019

1. PM flies home following Supreme Court ruling

Boris Johnson has been forced to cut short a trip to New York and fly home to face angry MPs who are expected to return to Parliament this morning after the Supreme Court ruled that the prime minister’s prorogation was unlawful. Jacob Rees-Mogg and newspapers including The Sun have accused the judges of attempting to frustrate Brexit.

Brexit ‘paused’ - what happens next?

2. Trump facing impeachment inquiry over Ukraine claims

US Democrats yesterday began an inquiry into possibly impeaching President Donald Trump over claims that he pressured Ukrainian politicians to investigate the business dealings of Joe Biden’s son in the country, in a bid to damage his political rival. There is strong support from House Democrats for impeachment, but the proceedings would be unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled Senate.

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Nancy Pelosi announces impeachment inquiry - what happens next?

3. Johnson given 14 days to explain Arcuri spending

Boris Johnson has been given 14 days to explain an alleged conflict of interest during his tenure as mayor of London. The committee that scrutinises mayoral spending wants the now PM to explain allegations made by The Sunday Times that he improperly channelled public money to US businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri, a close friend.

Jennifer Arcuri: who is Boris Johnson’s ‘close friend’?

4. Prorogation verdict puts Queen at centre of political storm

Buckingham Palace is remaining silent in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling that Boris Johnson prorogued Parliament unlawfully, with the Queen’s consent. But former Tory PM Sir John Major says Johnson has treated the Queen disrespectfully, adding: “No prime minister must ever treat the monarch or Parliament in this way again.”

Prorogation unlawful: will Boris Johnson resign?

5. UK asks Iran to release prisoners

Boris Johnson yesterday asked Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani to secure the release of jailed British-Iranian charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and other UK citizens being held in the Islamic republic. Sky News reports that the PM also invited Rouhani to visit the UK during their meeting, at the UN General Assembly in New York.

6. Thomas Cook customers and crew ‘trapped’

British holidaymakers on Thomas Cook packages and some aircrew say they are trapped in Cuba, with hoteliers demanding that they pay thousands of pounds owed by the collapsed travel operator. Cabin crew said they were effectively “held hostage”. UK ambassador to Cuba Antony Stokes last night tweeted that hotels had been instructed to let Britons leave and would be paid.

Historic airlift to be launched as Thomas Cook collapses

7. Mont Blanc glacier in danger of collapse, say experts

The authorities in Italy have closed roads and evacuated mountain shelters after scientists warned that about 250,000 cubic metres of ice is in danger of breaking way from the Planpincieux glacier on Mont Blanc’s Grandes Jorasses peak. The mayor of the nearby town of Courmayeur said global warming was changing the mountain, the highest in the Alps.

8. Cod off menu once again

North Sea cod is to lose its sustainability certification, just two years after the Marine Stewardship Council decided the fish could be caught and sold sustainably in the UK. The latest suspension means cod may disappear from supermarket shelves, and comes after new scientific analysis determined that stocks of the fish in the wild were below the “safe biological level”.

9. Teen activist Thunberg embraces Trump mockery

Climate activist Greta Thunberg has turned the tables on Donald Trump after the US president mocked her yesterday. Following her angry UN address on climate change, Trump sarcastically tweeted that the 16-year-old was “a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future”. Thunberg is now quoting that line to describe herself on her Twitter bio.

Why everyone’s talking about Greta Thunberg

10. Briefing: why everyone’s talking about Angela Kelly

The Queen’s personal dresser and confidante Angela Kelly has been granted permission to publish a book about the monarch, in a royal first.

The Queen’s right-hand woman has already written the tell-all memoir, which is titled The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe and will be released on 29 October.

Why everyone’s talking about Angela Kelly