Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Sunday 13 Oct 2013

1. OFFICER BLOWS WHISTLE ON PLEBGATE

A senior police officer has blown the whistle on what he describes as a Scotland Yard conspiracy to “stitch up” cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell over the ‘plebgate’ affair. In a witness statement the officer, said to be a superintendent, names a police colleague whom he says “orchestrated” a plot to bring down Mitchell.

2. NHS IS ‘UNSAFE’ IN LONDON SAYS CHIEF

NHS hospitals in London are at “breaking point” and often unsafe for patients, says the medical director responsible for running the service in London. Dr Andy Mitchell said: “At times, throughout the week, even throughout the day, services aren’t safe.” His admission comes before a report by NHS England that shows the capital’s health system is “unsustainable”.

3. CYCLONE BATTERS EASTERN INDIA

Cyclone Phailin has battered eastern India overnight tearing up trees, sending seawater surging inland and killing at least five. Nearly half a million people have been evacuated from the path of the powerful cyclone in Orissa state, which has packed winds of up to 125mph. In 1999, a cyclone killed more than 10,000 people in the area.

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4. RICHARD BRANSON ACCUSED OF TAX U-TURN

Sir Richard Branson is moving to the Caribbean just months after criticizing wealthy individuals who quit Britain to escape high taxes. The Sunday Times reports that Branson has sold his Oxfordshire mansion and is moving to his private island of Necker. In April, he reportedly said: “I don’t think people should be leaving the UK because of our tax system.”

5. SCALE OF EU IMMIGRATION REVEALED

More than 600,000 unemployed European Union migrants are living in Britain at a cost of £1.5bn to the NHS alone, says the Sunday Telegraph. According to an EU report, the number of jobless European people coming to Britain has risen by 42%. The news will intensify demands for the government to renegotiate EU membership.

6. BANK NEARLY PULLED SIR WINSTON NOTE

Bank of England bosses nearly cancelled the new £5 note featuring Sir Winston Churchill because they didn’t want to upset the Germans. Officials further worried that the note might prove controversial for visitors from Japan. They also carried out a background check on the private life of author Jane Austen before they agreed to feature her on the £10 note from 2017.

7. VIOLENT OFFENDERS WALKING FREE

Nine in 10 people convicted for the first time of violent crime are walking free, new figures show. In five years almost 81,000 violent offenders have been allowed to walk free and just a third of first-time sex offenders have been given custodial sentences. Philip Davies MP, who obtained the data, said: “People will be appalled.”

8. BLEAK FUTURE FOR MIDDLE-CLASS KIDS

Middle-class children are on course to be the first in more than a century to be materially less well off in adulthood than their parents, a government body will warn this week. The social mobility and child poverty commission will state that government initiatives have all too often been aimed at the poorest 10% of society.

9. MASONS BANNED FROM HILLSBOROUGH PROBE

Police officers who are freemasons have been banned from working on the criminal investigation into the cover-up of the Hillsborough disaster. The Independent Police Complaints Commission made the ruling in response to demands from relatives of the 96 Liverpool fans who died. Some campaigners believe masons helped suppress the truth of the 1989 disaster.

10. WH SMITH IN ‘RAPE BOOKS’ STORM

WH Smith has been accused of profiting from books that promote and glorify rape, incest and bestiality. The high street chain has listed more than 60 such titles, featuring graphic content, on its website. After the Mail On Sunday alerted WH Smith to the discovery, bosses took the entire website offline while the controversial ebooks were removed from sale.