Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 18 Oct 2017

1. Mesh implant problem ‘bigger than Thalidomide’

A surgeon who specialises in removing unsuccessful vaginal mesh implants says the scale of the crisis around the procedure is “bigger than Thalidomide”, because more people are affected. Thousands of women have started legal action after the implants, designed to stop incontinence, left them in permanent pain, unable to walk, work or have sex.

2. NHS performance slumps across the UK

The performance of NHS hospitals across the UK has slumped in the past four years, according to a study by the BBC. England, Wales and Northern Ireland have not hit monthly waiting times targets for cancer care, A&E waiting times or planned operations for 18 months. Scotland has hit its A&E target three times, but only in summer months, when the workload is lighter.

3. Rudd says Brexit without deal ‘unthinkable’

Home Secretary Amber Rudd has exposed deep divisions within Cabinet, telling the Home Affairs Committee yesterday that a British exit from the EU without a deal would be “unthinkable”. Her comments came as Brexit Secretary David Davis insisted that a no-deal exit must remain an option on the negotiating table.

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4. China’s Xi Jinping promises ‘new era’ of power

Chinese leader Xi Jinping opened the country’s 19th Communist Party congress in Beijing today, promising delegates a “new era” in the country’s politics and power relations. It has been rumoured that Xi will become China’s ruler for life at the week-long event – and The Guardian says he will use the gathering to fill the upper ranks of the party with his allies.

5. Trump tells widow that soldier ‘knew what he signed up for’

Donald Trump phoned the pregnant widow of a soldier killed in action in West Africa by militants shortly before she arrived at an airport to meet his coffin. The US President told Myeshia Johnson that her husband “knew what he signed up for … but when it happens it hurts anyway”, according to a Democrat congresswoman who was with her.

6. British Game of Thrones actor accuses Weinstein

Lena Headey, who plays Cersei Lannister in TV show Game of Thrones, has joined the ranks of women accusing producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment.The British actor says the mogul was “furious” when she resisted his advances in a hotel lift in 2015, telling him: “Oh come on, mate! It’d be like kissing my dad.”

7. Super-strong cannabis causing ‘mental health crisis’

Academic researchers and the drugs think tank Volteface have warned that the ubiquity of super-strength cannabis is causing a mental health crisis – and the situation is made worse by criminalisation. The authors of the new study say a tightly controlled legal market in cannabis would enable control of the harmful new strains of the drug.

8. Drinking in front of children ‘harmful’, study says

Even moderate drinking by parents can be harmful to children, according to research by the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS). Children can be left worried or embarrassed by seeing their parents drinking – and children’s bedtimes can be disrupted, the IAS warns. Those who see a parent drunk or tipsy are less likely to view them as a role model.

9. George Saunders wins Man Booker fiction prize

George Saunders last night became the second US author to win the prestigious Man Booker Prize for his novel Lincoln in the Bardo, which features Abraham Lincoln visiting his son’s tomb. It is the 58-year-old author’s first novel – he has previously written short stories. He collected his prize from the Duchess of Cornwall at an event in London.

10. Briefing: young bear the burden of UK’s debt crisis

The consumer debt crisis is having a disproportionate effect on young people in the UK, the chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned.

In an interview with the BBC, Andrew Bailey, who heads up the regulator, said the young were having to borrow simply to cover basic living costs.

Unsecured household debt in Britain, which includes credit cards, overdrafts and car loans, recently topped £200bn for the first time since the financial crisis.

Bailey said the younger generation were not “reckless”, but were forced to rack up large debts paying high rents and funding “essential living”.

Why are young people bearing the burden of UK’s debt crisis?