Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Friday 27 Sep 2019

1. Cummings: abuse will stop if MPs ‘respect’ vote

Boris Johnson’s right-hand man Dominic Cummings said yesterday that it was “not surprising some people are angry”, after the prime minister was accused of stoking public unrest over Brexit. Cummings insisted abuse and death threats against MPs would cease if lawmakers “respect” the result of the 2016 referendum. The senior advisor told one Labour MP who confronted him to “get Brexit done”.

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

2. Bishops rebuke MPs for ‘unacceptable’ language

All 118 of the Church of England’s bishops have signed a statement calling on MPs “both in debates and outside Parliament” to moderate their language, saying it has been derogatory and “unacceptable” in recent days. “We call on politicians to adhere rigorously to the rule of law,” the bishops wrote, in what The Guardian interprets as a “thinly veiled criticism of the prime minister”, who has insisted the Supreme Court was wrong to declare his prorogation of Parliament unlawful.

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Is Boris Johnson fuelling far-right terror threat?

3. Thomas Cook: 61,000 passengers repatriated

The Civil Aviation Authority says it has now flown home 61,000 of a total 150,000 Thomas Cook customers left stranded overseas when the travel agent collapsed earlier this week. Another 72 flights are due to bring back 16,000 travellers today, with the repatriation, dubbed Operation Matterhorn, set to continue until 6 October.

4. Teabags ‘release billions of microplastics’

Some premium teabags release far more tiny particles of plastic into a single cup of tea than the average person consumes in a year, researchers in Canada have found. The McGill University study looked at plastic commercial teabags - an increasingly popular alternative to teabags made found natural fibres - and found that a single bag released 11.6 billion microplastics. The average person eats 50,000 such particles a year.

The Week Unwrapped podcast: Crypto-terrorists, microplastics and the 996 system

5. ‘Clueless’ Cleveland Police ‘put public at risk’

Britain’s worst-rated police force suffers from “clueless” leadership according to its own officers, and is “putting the public at risk”, a government watchdog has found. A newly released report from HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services reveals that Cleveland Police is the only force in England or Wales to have been rated “inadequate” in all areas of inspection, and has been placed in special measures since an inspection in May.

6. Saudi Arabia opens up to foreign tourists

Saudi Arabia today launches a visa scheme for 49 countries, meaning tourists can visit freely for the first time. At the same time, dress codes for foreign women are to be relaxed. The measures are part of an attempt to reduce the kingdom’s economic dependency on oil. Saudi leaders are aiming to increase revenue from tourism from 3% to 10% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030.

7. Motorway verges ‘could become wildlife corridors’

Britain’s roadsides could be corridors for wildlife, and the country could enjoy 400 billion more wild flowers if verges were cut later in the year and less often, a coalition of charities backed by national highway agencies says. The group has drawn up new recommendations for roadsides but acknowledges that some people will see long grass as untidy.

8. Mothers warned not use ‘controlling voice’

Mothers who talk to teenage children in a “controlling” voice are more likely to start an argument than get the response they want, according to a study at Cardiff University. The researchers examined the responses of 14- and 15-year-olds to instructions given to them in different ways of speaking, and found that mothers who used a “supportive” tone got better results.

9. Japanese airline launches noisy baby icon

Japan Airlines has introduced a new icon that appears when customers are booking seats to show them where babies or small children will be seated on their journey, so that passengers travelling without youngsters can enjoy a more peaceful flight. However, the airline warns that the so-called baby map is not foolproof, as the icon may not appear if a ticket is booked through a third party or if there is a last-minute change of aircraft.

10. Briefing: what happened to Trump’s campaign promises?

Just over four years ago, Donald Trump came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower to declare his candidacy for president, announcing that the “American dream is dead” before making a series of outlandish promises.

We take a look at some of his most notable campaign pledges and whether they have come to fruition.

What happened to Donald Trump’s campaign promises?