Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 1 Dec 2010

published 1 December 2010

Our popular news catch-up service is posted Monday to Friday at 8.0 am. You can rely on it to keep you up to date through the working day with the main news talking points. GATWICK CLOSED BY SNOW, TRAINS BADLY HIT Gatwick airport is expected to remain closed until at least 6 am on Thursday because of freezing conditions and snow. Eastern Britain has seen the most snow: many schools remain closed. Traffic on motorways has been brought to a standstill in many areas and few trains are running to their normal schedules. Reports suggest more than 50 per cent of office, shop and factory workers were late for work this morning. In pictures: The big chill WORLD CUP BID: WE CAN TRUST FIFA, SAYS BECKHAM David Beckham has insisted he "trusts" Fifa to judge England's 2018 World Cup bid on its merits, despite the controversial Panorama documentary Fifa's Dirty Secrets aired on Monday. "They are football people and they are going to want a World Cup in the best country that they think could host the biggest sporting event in the world," said the footballer who is in Zurich with David Cameron and Prince William to boost England's bid ahead of Thursday's vote. PAKISTAN REJECTS US 'NUCLEAR' FEARSPakistan's High Commissioner in London has sought to allay US fears - expressed in the WikiLeaks cables - that its nuclear material might fall into the hands of terrorists. Wajid Shamsul Hasan said the material had a "foolproof control and command system" and the West had nothing to worry about. "They are the dearest assets that we have and we'll not allow anything to fall into any adventurer's hands." 'THATCHER'S CHILDREN' CLASH AT PMQsLabour leader Ed Miliband tried at Prime Minister's Questions today to exploit the WikiLeaks revelation that William Hague once reassured a US diplomat that he, David Cameron and George Osborne were all "children of Thatcher". But Cameron shot back: "I would rather be a child of Thatcher than a son of Brown". COMMONS EXPENSES: THEY'RE STILL AT ITDespite tough new rules, MPs are still trying to get illegitimate expense claims through the Commons system. According to documents leaked to the Times, more than £115,000 worth of claims have been rejected in recent months by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa). They include claims for mortgage repayments, first-class travel and excessive hospitality. WALLIS SIMPSON BRACELET BREAKS RECORDA diamond panther bracelet that once belonged to the Duchess of Windsor was sold at Sotheby's in London yesterday for £4.5m - making it the most expensive bracelet ever to auctioned anywhere. It was one of 20 Cartier pieces which chart the romance between Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII, through his abdication and their life in exile. They fetched a total of just under £8m, smashing the Sotheby's pre-sale estimate of £3m. 'HUNT ASSANGE DOWN' SAYS SARAH PALINSarah Palin has suggested that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange should be "hunted down like al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders". Writing on Facebook, she attacked the White House for its "incompetent handling of this whole fiasco". She went on: "Assange is not a 'journalist' any more than the 'editor' of al-Qaeda's new English-language magazine Inspire is a 'journalist'. He is an anti-American operative with blood on his hands." 'Hunt Assange like a terrorist,' says Palin BRUCE OLDFIELD FAVOURITE FOR KATE'S DRESS Bruce Oldfield, who designed many outfits for Princess Diana before her death, looks the most likely contender to create Kate Middleton's wedding dress. The online bookies Paddy Power have suspended betting on the issue because a sudden avalanche of wagers on Oldfield, many for over £500, suggests a leak. Oldfield, now 60, designed the wedding dresses of Samantha Cameron and Jemima Khan. MAN UTD KNOCKED OUT OF CARLING CUPManchester United's 29-game unbeaten run came to an abrupt end as they were knocked out of the Carling Cup in emphatic style by West Ham. The Premier League leaders were beaten 4-0 by the division's bottom club in the quarter final thanks to two goals apiece from Jonathan Spector and Carlton Cole. Arsenal beat Wigan 2-0 and are now favourites to win the Cup. Spector haunts Fergie CABLE 'COULD ABSTAIN ON TUITION FEES VOTE'Business Secretary Vince Cable has said he is ready to abstain when the coalition's policy of raising university tuition fees goes to the vote - if Lib Dems MPs decide to do so as a bloc. Meanwhile, despite the snow, students demonstrated again yesterday against the fee rise. Up to 200 people were "kettled" by police in Trafalgar Square last night, and 146 of them were arrested.