Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 5 Sep 2016

1. Keith Vaz accused of using prostitutes

Labour MP Keith Vaz has been accused of paying for the services of male prostitutes by the Sunday Mirror, after a sting operation in which the paper claims he was recorded with the men. Most newspapers say Vaz, who has a wife, will step down from his role as chair of the Home Affairs select committee, though he denies the allegations.

Keith Vaz quits Home Affairs Committee over escort scandal

2. May casts doubt on Brexit pledges

Theresa May has queried the feasibility of enacting two of the pledges made by the pro-Brexit campaign – introducing a points-based immigration system for EU citizens and giving £100m a week extra to the NHS. Speaking on her official plane as she flew to China for the G20 summit, May asked whether points-based immigration works.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Theresa May rejects calls to increase Indian visa quota

3. Anti-Jungle blockade to begin in Calais

A blockade in protest at the continued existence of the 'Jungle' migrant camp near Calais is to begin today, with lorry drivers joining farmers and others disrupting movement into the port. Lorries will park across the road from Calais to Boulogne, while a human chain is to be formed nearby. Around 7,000 migrants live in the camp.

Refugee crisis: Calais Jungle children 'have nowhere to sleep'

4. Turkey: IS have been 'cleared' from border

Turkey's prime minister, Binali Yildrim, says Syrian rebels and its own military have "cleared" Islamic State (IS) fighters and "all terrorist organisations", a reference to Kurdish rebels, from the border between their two countries. Monitors agreed that IS is no longer present on the border. The military advance has cut off IS supply lines.

5. Model of London in 1666 burned on barge

A large-scale model of London as it was in 1666 has been burned to ashes, by design, as it floated in a barge on the Thames. Made of wood and 394 feet long, the model was constructed and burnt to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London. The project, streamed online, was conceived by US 'burn artist' David Best.

6. MPs to debate second referendum petition

The Commons will today debate a petition signed by more than four million people calling for a second referendum on British exit from the European Union. Also today, Brexit secretary David Davis will tell MPs what progress he has made this summer. He will tell the Commons: "This is an historic and positive moment for our nation"

The pros and cons of a second referendum

7. Anti-China activists win HK seats

Preliminary results in Hong Kong's legislative council elections suggest a new generation of anti-China activists have won seats, says the BBC. Nathan Law, one of the leaders of the pro-democracy protests of 2014, is among their number. Pro-Beijing politicians will retain the majority of seats, however, partly because of the electoral system.

8. Oz magazine co-founder Neville dies at 74

Richard Neville, one of the three founders of the 1960s counterculture magazine Oz, has died at the age of 74 at home in Australia. With Felix Dennis, the founder of Dennis Publishing and owner of The Week who died in 2014, and James Anderson, Neville was tried in the UK with corrupting the morals of children. The 1971 case became a cause celebre when all three were jailed, but freed on appeal.

9. Briton wins world Scrabble championship

A UK player has won the world Scrabble championship, clinching an all-British final with a 181-point word. Brett Smitheram, 37, from Chingford, described his elation at playing 'braconid', a type of wasp, to beat former Countdown producer Mark Nyman, 49. Smitheram said his opponent had been a childhood Scrabble hero of his.

10. Briefing: How to get tickets for next year's Glastonbury festival

With Radiohead and Foo Fighters as possible headliners for next year's festival, tickets will sell out fast. All you need to do is upload a 300px by 300px passport-style photograph and fill in your name, address, email and phone number at glastonburyregistration.co.uk. Read our briefing for more information on the UK's biggest festival.

Glastonbury 2020: is the festival going ahead?