Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 24 May 2018

1. NHS needs £2,000 more from every household

Two non-partisan think tanks – the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Health Foundation – are warning today that there is no alternative to higher taxation to create even modest improvements in the NHS to meet increased demand. In a joint report, they say that every British household will need to pay an extra £2,000 in tax.

2. Yulia Skripal releases video statement on attack

Yulia Skripal, the daughter of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, yesterday released a video statement, in Russian to the news agency Reuters. In her first public appearance since she was poisoned, Skripal says: “Our recovery has been slow and extremely painful. The fact that a nerve agent was used to do this is shocking.”

3. North Korea calls Mike Pence remarks ‘stupid’

Putting the planned summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un further in doubt, a North Korean official called remarks by US Vice President Mike Pence “stupid” and “impudent”. Pence said North Korea might “end like Libya”. The US President said this week there is a “very substantial” chance the summit will not happen.

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4. Abortion campaigners offer to pay air fares

Ireland will vote on liberalising its abortion laws – among the strictest in Europe – on Friday and campaigners have been offering to pay for flights home to Ireland for people who would like to vote but live overseas. At the moment, Ireland does not permit terminations, even in cases of incest, rape or fatal foetal abnormalities.

5. Big rise in online blackmail for sex videos

The National Crime Agency says there has been a big rise in reported cases of ‘sextortion’ – the blackmailing of people who have been filmed performing sexual acts. There were 1,304 reported cases in 2017, up from 428 in 2015 – and others are likely to go unreported. Most victims are men in their teens or twenties.

6. Hertfordshire teenager arrested on terrorism charges

A teenager has been arrested in Bishop’s Stortford, near Stansted in Hertfordshire, on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism. The 19-year-old was detained at 7pm yesterday and police say his arrest was in connection with that of an 18-year-old by armed officers in north London last Friday. A 20-year-old woman is also being held.

7. Deutsche Bank to cut more than 7,000 jobs

Germany’s biggest lender, Deutsche Bank, is to cut 7,000 jobs, including hundreds in London, as it struggles to return to profitability. The bank employs some 8,500 people in the UK capital. The job losses are an extra blow to the financial services sector in London, which is already expecting to lose positions as a result of Brexit.

8. Water resistant sunscreen claim ‘meaningless’

Consumer organisation Which? has said that the claim made by some manufacturers that sunscreen is ‘water resistant’ is meaningless, after rigorous testing. Firms can make the claims after showing their products resist immersion in tap water – but Which? carried out its trials in salt water, chlorinated water and fast-moving water.

9. World Cup stolen in 1966 by gangster ‘for thrills’

The theft of the football World Cup trophy in 1966 is one of the Metropolitan Police’s highest-profile unsolved cases. Now, the nephew of a London gangster has claimed his uncle stole the trophy “for the thrill”. Gary Cugullere says his uncle Sidney stole the cup, with the help of his brother Reg. Both men are now dead.

10. Briefing: what is GDPR and will it affect you?

If you’ve got an email address, chances are you will have heard about Europe’s new General Data Protection Regulation.

Indeed, it’s hard not to view the rules, or GDPR, as “a law created to fill your inbox with identikit warnings from every company you have ever interacted with online”, says The Guardian.

What is GDPR and will it affect you?