Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 1 Dec 2016

1. Johnson 'supports freedom of movement'

Boris Johnson reportedly privately told at least three ambassadors to the UK that he supports freedom of movement within the EU despite it not being government policy. One of the senior diplomats said he was "shocked" to have the Foreign Secretary "openly telling us that he is personally in favour of free movement".

2. Education chief links bad schools to vote for Brexit

Areas with bad schools voted for Brexit because parents felt their needs were being ignored, the chief inspector of schools says. Sir Michael Wilshaw, who publishes his annual report into education today, said parents in the north of England believed "their children have less of a chance of educational success than people south of the Wash".

3. May 'wanted illegal migrants at bottom of school list'

Theresa May planned to place the children of illegal migrants at the bottom of the list when it came to school places when she was home secretary, leaked letters show, and the Home Office wanted schools to ask to see the passports of new pupils. The letters suggest ministers were unhappy with the punitive nature of the measures.

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

4. Karen Danczuk's brother guilty of raping her

The brother of Karen Danczuk, the estranged wife of Rochdale MP Simon, has been found guilty of raping her as a child. Michael Burke was also convicted of rape and serious sexual offences against two other women. Danczuk had publicly said she was abused by a family member, prompting the other women to come forward.

5. Peter Mandelson launches Titanic hotel project

Former Labour minister Peter Mandelson yesterday launched a project to construct a replica of the Titanic in Sichuan, China, 746 miles from the sea. The proposal to make a hotel themed around the ship, which sank in 1912, has been criticised for insensitivity. Mandelson was quoted as saying: "This is a great project."

6. Football sex abuse helpline receives 860 calls

An NSPCC helpline set up to support former footballers who were sexual abused as youth players has received more than 860 calls in its first week. The charity referred 60 people to the police or children's services in the first three days, triple the number referred in the same time period of the Jimmy Savile scandal.

7. Chapecoense fans angry after fuel confirmation

Fans of Brazilian football team Chapecoense are angry after audio from the airplane which crashed in Colombia, killing almost all of the squad, revealed the pilot told air traffic control the plane was "without fuel". An emotional requiem service was held last night to remember the 71 players, staff, journalists and crew who died in the crash.

8. Magic mushroom drug may help lift depression

Two scientific studies in the US have found that a single dose of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, can lift depression for six months or longer. Cancer patients taking the chemical experienced "profoundly meaningful and spiritual experiences" and found their anxiety lifted.

9. Thief walked off with £1.3m bucket of gold

A thief in New York walked off with a bucket of gold flakes worth an estimated $1.6m (£1.3m) in September, police have revealed. The man was near an armoured security van when the guards were distracted. CCTV footage shows him carrying the heavy bucket with difficulty. He is thought to have fled to Florida.

10. Briefing: Iceland (the country) sues Iceland (the supermarket)

Iceland is suing Iceland over its "exceptionally broad and ambiguous" Europe-wide trademark registration. Confused? Well, the government of the North Atlantic island nation is taking legal action against the UK supermarket chain of the same name, claiming its businesses are not being allowed to describe themselves using the word "Iceland".

Iceland (the country) sues Iceland (the supermarket) over name