Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Sunday 10 Nov 2019

1. McDonnell slams Tory spending claims as ‘fake news’

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has condemned Tory claims over Labour’s spending plans as “fake news”. The Conservatives said that Labour's policies would cost £1.2tn over the course of the next five years. Chancellor Sajid Javid said Labour's proposals would leave the UK “on the brink of bankruptcy” but McDonnell said the Tory report was “an incompetent mish-mash of debunked estimates and bad maths”.

2. Police watchdog delays Boris Johnson report until after election

The independent police watchdog has delayed its announcement on whether the PM should face an investigation into possible criminal misconduct over the Jennifer Arcuri scandal until after the election. Jon Trickett, shadow Cabinet Office minister, said: “This is incredible. It’s a suppression of information which the public is entitled to have. Given the fact we’re in a general election there should be maximum transparency.”

3. Pensioners hospitalised after taking cocaine

Elderly people aged 90 and over are being admitted to hospital after taking cocaine, NHS data shows. Ten years ago, 45 people a year aged 60 or over were treated in hospital in England for cocaine-related disorders. The number treated has soared to 379. Experts say the rise is due to existing users living longer and falling prices.

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4. Spain prepares to vote in fourth election in four years

Spain is preparing to go to the polls for the country's fourth general election in as many years. The election comes after the previous poll, in April, saw the ruling Socialist Workers' Party unable to form a coalition after winning the most seats but not a majority. The campaign has been overshadowed by unrest in Catalonia.

5. Russian Tory donors named in secret intelligence report

Nine Russian business people who donated cash to the Tory Party are named in a secret intelligence report on the threats posed to UK democracy which was suppressed last week by Downing Street. Some of the Russian donors are personally close to Boris Johnson. Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, has pointed out that Dominic Cummings spent a “mysterious three years” in “post-communist Russia”.

6. Party leaders to join the royals at the Cenotaph

The leaders of three main political parties will join members of the Royal Family at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday. Boris Johnson said he will be “proud” to lay his first wreath at the war memorial as prime minister. Jeremy Corbyn said: “For so many of our armed forces, our veterans and their families… they are not getting the support they deserve.”

7. Former Queen aide condemns Crown affair ‘fiction’

The Queen's former press secretary has condemned The Crown for suggesting that the monarch had an affair Lord Porchester. “This is very distasteful and totally unfounded,” he said, speaking to The Sunday Times. “The Queen is the last person in the world to have ever considered looking at another man. The Crown is a fiction.”

8. KSI wins his YouTuber boxing rematch against Logan Paul

The British YouTuber KSI has won his boxing rematch against US social media personality Logan Paul. Two judges scored the fight 57-54 and 56-55 in favour of KSI, with one judging scoring it 56-55 in favour of Paul. Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn told Sky Sports: “That fight was everything that is great about boxing and that was from Youtubers!”

9. Bercow says Cameron thinks he is ‘born to rule’

John Bercow has re-ignited his row with David Cameron, saying the former Tory prime minister feels he is “born to rule” and has a “probably public-school-instilled” sense of his own superiority. The former Speaker of the House of Commons added that Cameron felt “the natural order is that people like him run things, and that he is in a superior position”.

10. Firefighters in Australia tell public to act now as fires rages

As bush fires rage in Australia, firefighters have warned people to take action now because they “may not get help” on Tuesday. The New South Wales Rural Fire Service said it is expecting severe and extreme fire dangers, including near Sydney. Bushfires in New South Wales have killed three people and at least 150 homes have been destroyed since Friday.