1. May 'to announce Britain will quit single market'
Theresa May will signal this week that she is prepared to take Britain out of the single market and customs union, according to several reports this morning. The Prime Minister is expected to reveal the most detailed insight yet into her approach to Brexit negotiations, in a speech on Tuesday. She will urge people to give up on "insults" and "division" and unite to build a "global Britain".
2. Donald Trump will meet Putin in Iceland within weeks
Sources say Donald Trump plans to meet Vladimir Putin within weeks of becoming president. His team have told British officials that their first trip will be a meeting with the Russian leader, in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik. The move would emulate Ronald Reagan’s Cold War deal-making in the city with Mikhail Gorbachev. Senior Whitehall figures fear that warmer relations between Washington and Moscow could leave Britain out in the cold.
3. Cancer operations cancelled as NHS crisis deepens
Cancer patients are having their operations cancelled by hospitals with increasing regularity as the NHS winter crisis deepens, reveals The Observer. Such cancellations have become more commonplace in the last fortnight, as a rapid increase in patient numbers has placed intolerable pressures on beds and staff. The chair of King’s College Hospital, London, Lord Kerslake, says Theresa May does not understand the severity of the crisis.
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4. Public schools have 'cavalier attitude' to sex abuse allegations
Dozens of public schools faced allegations of sex abuse in the past three years amid claims that the private sector has been adopting a "cavalier" attitude to the problem to preserve its reputation. The Sunday Times says "suspect teachers" have been allowed to leave with references rather than face investigation and that schools have demanded gagging clauses in compensation settlements.
5. 'Big brother' fears as bosses fit staff with tracker devices
Companies are fitting workers with body-worn tracker devices that monitor how much sleep they have, how well they work with colleagues and which track their body language, tone of voice and emotions. Privacy campaigners say the trend is leading to a "Big Brother" society, but supporters of the revolution in "workplace wearables" say it is creating a more productive "augmented human being".
6. Blair in talk with 'Amy' producer over feature-length biopic
Tony Blair is in talks with an Oscar-winning producer over plans to make a documentary movie of his life. The Sunday Telegraph says the former PM’s staff met James Gay-Rees, producer of the film Amy, about the life and death of the Amy Winehouse, at his offices in Grosvenor Square, London, before Christmas. Gay-Rees is currently making a documentary about Diego Maradona, the footballer who battled cocaine addiction.
7. Dozens of Labour MPs 'plan to flee Corbyn'
Dozens of Labour MPs are ready to follow Tristram Hunt out of politics, a leading moderate has told The Sunday Times. Tired of life "on the reserve bench of the reserve bench" under Jeremy Corbyn, the MPs are poised to resign, says the former shadow cabinet minister. "Bitterness" may encourage the moderates to form their own rival party.
8. Lack of outdoor activity leads to myopia epidemic
An epidemic of myopia has hit Britain, with 27% of adults and 20% of teenagers under 16 diagnosed and numbers likely to rise further, scientists have warned. Experts say the condition, in which eyeball distortions blur vision, is often caused by a failure to spend time outdoors, where eyes benefit from greater light levels and focal distances. The epidemic could lead to increases in glaucoma, cataracts and detached retinas.
9. Palestinians fear Trump will kill two-state solution
Palestinian leaders are warning that Donald Trump's promise to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem could spell the end of the two-state solution. "We hope that this news is not true, because it is not encouraging and will disrupt and hinder the peace process," said Mahmoud Abbas yesterday. Israel considers Jerusalem as its "eternal, undivided capital", but East Jerusalem is considered occupied under international law.
10. Producers speak out as Sherlock climax is leaked online
The final episode of the current series of Sherlock has been leaked online. A Russian version of the season climax has been illegally uploaded to the internet ahead of its broadcast. The creators of Sherlock have urged fans not to spoil the episode by sharing it online, writing on Twitter: "It you come across it, please do not share it. #KeepMeSpoilerFree."
