Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Sunday 18 Jan 2015

1. DID ED MILIBAND KNOW CRASH WAS COMING?

Ed Miliband and Ed Balls knew about the economic crash a year before it happened but failed to act, claims a new book. Former mayor of Doncaster Martin Winter, who helped Miliband secure his Commons seat, says Miliband told him in 2007 that the economy was “going to fall off a cliff” and that he wanted Gordon Brown to call a snap general election.

2. CONVICTED TERROR MAN LIVES IN UK

A convicted al-Qaeda terror fundraiser with links to the Paris attacks is using the Human Rights Act to prevent his deportation from the UK back to his native Algeria, says the Sunday Telegraph. Meanwhile, Ofsted’s chief inspector is to tell MPs that children are still at risk of being radicalised in school despite attempts to crack down on extremists.

3. ELECTION: UK FACES THREE-WAY COALITION

The next general election will result in a three-way coalition government, forecasts the commentator who accurately predicted the European election results. Having taken on the “mammoth task” of predicting the result in each of the UK’s 650 constituencies, Iain Dale writes: “Welcome to five-party politics. It’s not going to be an easy ride.”

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4. STEPHEN FRY MARRIES PARTNER SPENCER

Stephen Fry has married his partner Elliott Spencer. The actor and presenter, 57, tweeted a picture for his 8.5m followers, showing him and his 27-year-old partner signing a marriage register in Dereham, Norfolk. Fry wrote: "Gosh. @ElliottGSpencer and I go into a room as two people, sign a book and leave as one. Amazing."

5. EY: OIL TUMBLE WILL DELAY RATES RISE

Tumbling oil prices and an impending slump into overall deflation will force the Bank of England to delay a rise in interest rates until 2016, believes a leading economic forecaster. The sliding cost of oil “should persuade the Monetary Policy Committee to err on the side of caution, and keep interest rates on hold until the first quarter of 2016”, the EY Item Club will say.

6. TORIES ‘RACIST’ SAYS FORMER ADVISER

The Conservative party is still racist, says a former adviser and friend of David Cameron. Jamaica-born Derek Laud says the party’s “Go home or face arrest” posters, aimed at illegal immigrants, were “essentially racist”. He says no party points the finger of blame at immigrants more than the Tories. “They are the ultimate racists because they deal in stereotypes,” he said.

7. CHARITY WARNS OF WINTER DEATHS

One elderly person could die every seven minutes during the wintry conditions ahead, warns a charity. Some parts of the UK will experience temperatures of -15c this evening. There are forecasts for snow, ice and hail across the country. The Met Office has issued yellow warnings, “be aware”, for Scotland, Wales, southwest and central England, with up to 15cm of snow expected in parts.

8. PASSENGER DELAYS AS EUROSTAR RE-OPENS

Passengers face delays on Eurostar services after a fire left thousands stranded on both sides of the Channel yesterday. Services were stopped after a lorry caught fire on the French side of the railway's south tunnel. Passenger service Eurostar says it plans to run a full service today, but only "for passengers who have an existing reservation for this date".

9. CALL FOR GREATER BLAIR SCRUTINY

Tony Blair faces being quizzed over his fortune amid claims he is set to profit from a gas pipeline project backed by the Azerbaijan regime. “Tony Blair has embarked on a career of personal enrichment and has blurred the lines between his public and private interests,” said Tory MP Andrew Bridgen, who is tabling an early day motion calling for increased scrutiny of the former PM.

10. JOSE HAILS ‘PERFECT’ CHELSEA VICTORY

Chelsea extended their lead at the top of the Premier League with a 5-0 defeat of Swansea described by manager Jose Mourinho as “perfect”. Elsewhere, there were wins for Liverpool and Manchester United. Today, Manchester City host Arsenal. A win for the hosts will reduce the gap between them and Chelsea to just two points.