Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Monday 7 Jan 2019

1. MPs urge Theresa May to rule out a no-deal Brexit

More than 200 MPs from across the political spectrum have signed a letter to the prime minister that urges her to rule out a no-deal Brexit. The MPs - from all parties and including both Leave and Remain supporters - said quitting the European Union without an agreement would cause job losses. However, Boris Johnson claims a no-deal Brexit is “closest to what people actually voted for” in the EU referendum.

2. Man due in court charged with Surrey train murder

A man will appear in court today charged with the murder of a man who was killed in front of his 14-year-old son on a train in Surrey last week. Darren Pencille, 35, from Farnham, is accused of fatally stabbing Lee Pomeroy on a Guildford to Waterloo service on Friday. He is due to appear at Staines Magistrates’ Court along with Chelsea Mitchell, 27, who has been charged with assisting an offender.

3. Businessman who hiked drug prices handed OBE

A multimillionaire whose company’s drug price rises have cost the NHS around £50m was handed an OBE in the New Year’s Honours list, The Times reports. Vijay Patel exploited a loophole in health service rules to increase the price of old medicines of which his firm, Atnahs, was the sole supplier by up to 2,500%. The hikes included upping the price of a packet of antidepressants from £5.71 to £154.

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4. British stars clean up at Golden Globe awards

Brits have fared well at this year’s Golden Globe Awards, with Olivia Colman, Christian Bale, Richard Madden and Ben Whishaw among the winners. Colman was honoured for her role in The Favourite, while English-American actor Bale won for playing ex-US Vice-President Dick Cheney in Vice. Bohemian Rhapsody, about Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, picked up best actor and best film in the drama category.

5. NHS ‘has £1bn budget hole’ despite extra funding

A new plan to overhaul the NHS will see GPs, mental health and community care get the biggest increases in funding, in a bid to diminish reliance on hospitals. However, the NHS reportedly faces a £1bn budget hole despite the planned cash boost. The Times says analysis shows the cash will fall short of what is needed to deal with rising pressures on the health service.

6. US withdrawal from Syria ‘may take years’

American troops will not leave northeastern Syria until Islamic State militants are defeated and US-allied Kurdish fighters protected, US National Security Adviser John Bolton has said. The announcement indicates that the withdrawal announced abruptly last month is likely to take months or even years. Senator Lindsey Graham said: “I think this is the reality setting in.”

7. Household debt reaches record highs

The TUC says that British household debt has reached a new peak, with an average of £15,385 owed to credit card firms, banks and other lenders. Years of austerity and wage stagnation are thought to have forced households to increase their borrowing last year, taking it to a new high. Unsecured debt as a share of household income is now 30.4%, an unprecedented high.

8. De Niro says Trump is a ‘racist’ and ‘white supremacist’

Robert De Niro has described Donald Trump as a “racist” and “white supremacist”. The actor says that when Trump took power, he thought: “Well, OK, let’s see what he does – maybe he’ll change. But he just got worse.” In an interview with The Guardian, he added: “I thought maybe as a New Yorker he understands the diversity in the city but he’s as bad as I thought he was before – and much worse. It’s a shame. It’s a bad thing in this country.”

9. Quarter of online festive purchases ‘will be returned’

Britons will send back a quarter of the online purchases made between Black Friday on 29 November and Boxing Day, according to estimates by the Centre for Economics and Business Research in London. If correct, this would equate to about £4.8bn of the estimated £19bn in online sales. Retailers can ill-afford so many returns, after a challenging Christmas period.

10. Briefing: What is the WhatsApp Gold hoax?

A scam message warning people about a fake upgrade that downloads malware on to their smartphone is once again spreading across WhatsApp.

The hoax urges users not to download an update called “WhatsApp Gold” or click on a video dubbed “Martinelli”.

WhatsApp Gold hoax: what is it and what should you do if you receive it?