Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 14 Sep 2017

1. Grenfell Tower: public inquiry opens

The inquiry into the fire at a west London tower block that killed at least 80 people on 14 June formally opens today. Retired High Court judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick will start the Grenfell Tower inquiry by setting out how it will operate. He has previously faced barracking by relatives and survivors of those who lived in the tower.

2. Anticipation about May’s Florence speech

Theresa May is travelling to Florence next week to make a speech outlining her position on Brexit, with the Italian prime minister expected to attend. The EU’s Guy Verhofstadt said last week that the speech was the reason the next round of negotiations are delayed by a week and called it an “important intervention” on the issue.

3. Graham Taylor ‘was warned of abuse’

Former Aston Villa manager Graham Taylor, who died in January, was warned that a scout who worked for him had abused young players, but told the victim who spoke out to “sweep it under the carpet”. Tony Brien, who was abused by Ted Langford multiple times, made the claim at the FA’s inquiry into sexual abuse. Langford was jailed in 2007 and died in 2012.

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4. Trump minister ‘wanted jet for honeymoon’

US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin asked for a US air force jet to fly him and his new wife, Louise Linton, around Scotland, France and Italy for their honeymoon this summer, at a cost of around $25,000 per hour, ABC News says. The Trump administration said Mnuchin made the request - which was later withdrawn - to ensure secure communications.

5. Johnson: Irma damage ‘like Hiroshima’

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was in the Caribbean yesterday to see for himself the damage caused by Hurricane Irma to British territories there. Meeting survivors amid the rubble that remains of Anguilla, Johnson said the flattened buildings reminded him of the aftermath of the Hiroshima bombing during the Second World War.

6. Police investigate harassment of MPs

A Scotland Yard unit set up following the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox by an extremist during the 2016 referendum campaign has investigated 102 crimes against Members of Parliament over the past year. There have been 71 complaints of “malicious communications”, five of harassment, four of racial harassment, and 21 alleged thefts or acts of vandalism.

7. Self-harming prisoner to be released

A prisoner who has spent 11 years in jail for a ten-month sentence is to be released. James Ward has mental health problems and was jailed for setting fire to his mattress while already in jail. He has been held under an open-ended imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentence, now abolished, but is said to be a danger only to himself.

8. New Jane Austen £10 note launched

For four months, the Bank of England has had no women except the Queen represented on its banknotes. That changes today with the launch of the new £10, featuring a portrait of novelist Jane Austen. The note is made of polymer and has Braille-style raised dots to help blind or sight-inpaired people. Shops will still take the Charles Darwin tenner until some time in spring 2018.

9. Dahl’s Charlie ‘was originally black’

Author Roald Dahl’s original idea for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was to make the hero a young black boy, his widow, Liccy, has revealed. Asked why Charlie was made white instead, she said: “I don’t know. It’s a great pity.” Dahl’s biographer, Donald Sturrock, said Dahl’s agent thought it was a bad idea to have a black leading character and suggested the change.

10. Briefing: Profile of a neo-Nazi terror group

Two British soldiers are among three men charged with belonging to National Action, an extreme right-wing group banned last December under UK anti-terrorism laws.

Established in 2013, National Action is a racist neo-Nazi group with branches across the UK, according to the Home Office. Members conduct street demonstrations and “stunts” to intimidate communities, and distribute propaganda to recruit young members.

“The group rejects democracy, is hostile to the British state and seeks to divide society by implicitly endorsing violence against ethnic minorities and perceived ‘race traitors’,” the Home Office says.

National Action arrests: what is the far-right group and why is it banned?