Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 2 Aug 2017

1. Prison chiefs 'devastated by decline in service'

The president of the Prison Governors Association says they are "devastated" by the "complete decline of the prison service". In an open letter to the Ministry of Justice, Andrea Albutt calls for more prison officers to be hired and speaks of her "grave concern" about rioting at jails in Hertfordshire and Wiltshire. The Ministry of Justice said it was increasing the number of staff.

Prison governors' chief blames ministers for jail crisis

2. US 'not seeking North Korea regime change'

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has told North Korea Washington is not seeking regime change or "the collapse of the regime" and that the US "is not your enemy". However, he also warned that Pyongyang's missile tests presented "an unacceptable threat". Yesterday, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said Donald Trump was ready to go to war with North Korea.

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US tests unarmed missile in California

3. Prince Philip attends his final solo engagement

Prince Philip made his final solo public engagement today before retiring at the age of 96. He met a group of Royal Marines in his capacity as Captain General - his 22,219th solo appearance since 1952. The Duke of Edinburgh announced in May he was stepping down, but has not ruled out appearing at future engagements with the Queen.

Wince Philip: Six of the Duke of Edinburgh's top gaffes

4. Pensions change 'made a million women poorer'

More than a million women in their early 60s have been made poorer with the raising of the state pension age, the Institute for Fiscal Studies says. On average, a woman aged 60 to 62 years old woman is £32 a week worse off, it says, although the move has saved the state £5.1bn. The government said its pensions policy was "fair and sustainable".

5. Tory and Labour MPs call for UK to stay in EEA

A cross-party group of MPs are calling for the UK to remain in the European Economic Area (EEA) after Brexit. Tory and Labour MPs including Chuka Umunna and Stephen Kinnock believe they can force Theresa May to allow a vote on the issue. The Labour Party is said to be keeping its options open on the issue.

Brexit: Theresa May says ‘trust me’ to deliver

6. 'Musketeer' terror plotters found guilty

A gang of would-be terrorists inspired by Islamic State who called themselves the Musketeers, have been found guilty of planning a bomb and knife attack in the UK. Naweed Ali and Khobaib Hussain from Birmingham, and Mohibur Rahman and Tahir Aziz from Stoke-on-Trent were convicted at the Old Bailey. They were arrested after police found weapons and a "viable" pipe bomb.

7. Trump 'obstructed justice', says ex-White House lawyer

A former White House legal ethics lawyer says Donald Trump could have obstructed justice by helping draft his son's statement about his meeting with a Russian lawyer last year. Richard Painter, who worked under George W Bush, told The Guardian: "You're boxing in a witness into a false story. That puts them under enormous pressure to... lie under oath to be consistent with their story. I think it's obstruction of justice."

Senators question firm tied to Trump dossier – is MI6 spy next?

8. Sixty deaths linked to drug that killed Prince

At least 60 people have died in the UK in the past eight months after taking some quantity of the drug fentanyl, an overdose of which killed the singer Prince last year. A further 70 cases are yet to be tested. Police say dealers of heroin and other class A drugs are cutting their products with the synthetic opioid.

9. More sunshine in Shetland than Cornwall

The Shetland Isles enjoyed a sunnier July than Cornwall, at the other end of the UK, the eighth time this has happened since records began in 1929. The Scottish islands had 192.9 hours of sunshine last month, while Cornwall had just 153.5 hours, says the Met Office. July was 22% rainier than average across the UK as a whole.

10. Briefing: John Kelly, Trump's new Chief of Staff

Donald Trump has turned to John Kelly, a four-star Marine general, to bring order to a shambolic White House staffed with his relatives, multi-millionaire advisers and - until recently - a communications director who referred to Kelly predecessor as a "f***ing paranoid schizophrenic".

The general's first job was to fire Anthony 'The Mooch' Scaramucci, the loose-lipped communications director who reported directly to the President for 11 memorable days.

The 67-year-old must now turn his attention to rehabilitating the image of a White House currently entangled in a public relations nightmare.

John Kelly: Who is Trump's new Chief of Staff?