Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Sunday 5 Oct 2014

1. NICK CLEGG SLAMS DAVID CAMERON

David Cameron would become a cross between “a poor man's Margaret Thatcher and a rich man's Nigel Farage” if the Conservatives win the next general election, Nick Clegg warned yesterday. Speaking at the Lib Dem party conference, Clegg predicted a “diminished and divided” nation out of the EU, with the economy “halted in its tracks”.

2. LABOUR GRANDEES TURN ON MILIBAND

A leading Labour donor accused Ed Miliband of taking the party “back to the 1970s”, reports The Sunday Times. As a new poll put the Tories two points ahead of Labour, MPs and peers turned on the party leader. Lord Noon branded Miliband’s plans for a mansion tax a “hopeless and desperate idea”. Lord Levy said the plan is “totally inappropriate”.

3. PM TELLS SAS TO FIND 'JIHADI JOHN'

David Cameron has told spy chiefs to find Jihadi John. The prime minister summoned the heads of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ to his Chequers country retreat and told them he wants them to locate Alan Henning’s murderer so he can send the SAS to capture or kill the man, dubbed ‘Jihadi John’. Henning’s brother-in-law says he is “angry” that the government has not done more.

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4. BRITISH LIBYA HOSTAGE IS RELEASED

A British teacher has has been released after being held hostage by militants in Libya since May. David Bolam, who taught at the now-closed International School Benghazi, is "safe and well", says the Foreign Office. His kidnapping had not been reported at the request of the British government and his family. It is believed his release was secured by local political factions.

5. FIRST ONLINE MURDER ‘WITHIN MONTHS’

The first online murder will happen by the end of the year, warns a US security firm. IID is predicting that a murder executed by a “hacked internet-connected device” will happen for the first time in the months ahead. Hackers have warned they are able to hack heart pacemakers, leading European policing agency Europol to predict a surge in “injury and possible deaths” via computer attacks.

6. BODY FOUND IN HUNT FOR GROSS SUSPECT

Police say a body found in a west London park may be that of Arnis Zalkalns, the lead suspect in the murder of schoolgirl Alice Gross. Officers say the "early indications" are that the badly decomposed corpse is that of Zalkalns. Alice, 14, from Hanwell, west London, disappeared on August 28. Her body was found in the River Brent on Tuesday.

7. ALAN HENNING FAMILY ‘NUMB WITH GRIEF’

A church service will be held to mark the life of Alan Henning in his hometown of Eccles today. The British aid volunteer was murdered by Islamic State. His family say they are “numb with grief” after a video of his beheading was published online on Friday. The Muslim Council of Britain said of the group: “They are not really Islamic: nobody recognises them, and they are hijacking the religion."

8. CABLE: TORY PLANS ‘UNACCEPTABLE’

Business secretary Vince Cable says the Tories’ plans for cuts to the incomes of the working poor go "far beyond" what is needed to cut the deficit. Speaking to The Observer, the Lib Dem minister said: "There's absolutely no way that making deep cuts in provision for the working poor is acceptable and that we can possibly go along with it.”

9. WORDY MENUS ‘EQUAL COSTLY DISHES’

Is the length of descriptions in a restaurant menu connected to the prices charged? A US linguistics professor says the use of longer words to describe a dish is a sign of high price. Stanford University Professor Dan Jurafsky, who researched 6,500 menus, calculates for every extra letter in the description of a dish diners can expect to find an extra 11p has been be added to their bill.

10. WENGER WARY OF DIEGO COSTA

Arsene Wenger has described Chelsea’s Diego Costa as "a killer" as the two sides prepare to play at Stamford Bridge. Both sides are unbeaten in the Premier League but Chelsea are six points ahead of the Gunners. Elsewhere, Manchester United host Everton in the midday kick-off. Yesterday, Manchester City won 2-0 at Aston Villa.