Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 19 January 2022

1. MPs team up ‘to topple PM’

Conservative MPs elected in 2019 have been openly plotting to remove Boris Johnson from office over No. 10 lockdown parties. More than 20 ‘red wall’ MPs met yesterday to discuss their concerns, said The Times. The mood has turned against Boris Johnson “dramatically”, a frontbencher told The Guardian, adding that the PM is “in real trouble”. The paper said Conservative MPs have been talking openly about how to oust the prime minister and who should succeed him after he gave a “disastrous interview” with Sky News on Tuesday.

Sue Gray: the civil servant with Boris Johnson’s future in her hands

2. Capitol inquiry targets Giuliani

The congressional panel investigating last year’s Capitol riot has issued a subpoena to Rudy Giuliani, the personal attorney of former president Donald Trump. Giuliani travelled the US after the 2020 election to spread the baseless claim that the election was stolen from Trump. The House of Representatives committee demanded Giuliani and three other Trump associates hand over documents and sit for depositions on 8 February. The Guardian said this was the committee’s “most aggressive move”.

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One year on: how the world reported the Capitol Hill riot

3. Work from home likely to end

Boris Johnson is expected to announce an easing of England’s Covid rules later today. The cabinet will review the latest data before the PM addresses the Commons in the afternoon. Ministers are widely expected to approve the end of current advice for people to work from home where possible and the use of vaccine certificates to enter venues like nightclubs and sports stadiums. An end to the mask mandate on public transport and in shops is considered less likely, but still possible.

‘Living with Covid’: expert predictions for the next stage of pandemic

4. Watchdog calls out influencers

Social media influencers who consistently fail to tell their followers when they are paid to promote products are to be named and shamed in an Instagram advertising campaign by the Advertising Standards Authority. The watchdog said that despite “repeated warnings” some popular influencers still fail to reveal when they have been paid to advertise items or services on their platforms. Six influencers, who have a combined following of 4.8m, will be featured in the adverts stating they have been “sanctioned by the UK’s ad regulator for not declaring ads on this platform”.

The rise of the social media influencer

5. Rivers ‘ruined’ by sewage spills

Water companies have illegally spilt sewage into Britain’s rivers more than 3,000 times over the past five years, according to an analysis of industry data. These unlawful spills have polluted many rivers popular with wild swimmers, as well as ten protected chalk streams that are havens for otters, water voles, kingfishers and trout, said The Times. Water companies are only permitted to discharge sewage from treatment works when the system is overwhelmed by rainfall.

Toxic run-off, oil spills and fly-tipping: the state of England’s rivers

6. Microsoft buys Call of Duty publisher

The publisher of the smash-hit Call of Duty video game series has been bought by Microsoft in a record $69bn (£51bn) deal. The all-cash takeover for Activision Blizzard will hand almost $400m to its chief executive, Bobby Kotick, who has been accused of presiding over a culture of sexual harassment and misconduct claims, and reportedly once threatened to have an assistant killed. The Times said this was the largest takeover yet by one of America’s tech giants.

The world’s most valuable companies

7. Farc captive running for president

A former Colombian senator will run for president again, 20 years after being kidnapped by left-wing rebels. Ingrid Betancourt was campaigning in the 2002 presidential election when she was abducted by Farc rebels and held hostage for over six years. “Today I am here to finish what I started,” she told supporters in Bogotá. “I am here to claim the rights of 51 million Colombians who are not finding justice, because we live in a system designed to reward criminals.”

8. Outrage over hamster Covid cull

Authorities in Hong Kong have raided a pet shop and seized a number of hamsters to be euthanised following a Covid outbreak. Customers who have bought a hamster from the Little Boss pet store since 22 December have been told to hand over their pet, with authorities planning to cull some 2,000 of the small rodents due to an outbreak linked to the store. More than 14,000 people have signed a petition stating that “a pet is an owner’s best friend, and due to the government’s orders, thousands of people could unjustifiably lose their dearest companions”.

Inside the Covid vaccine programme for animals

9. Serpentine ticks off Hancock

Matt Hancock has landed himself in hot water for taking a dip in the Serpentine. After the former health secretary was pictured on Tuesday enjoying a bracing swim in the Hyde Park lake, the “famously officious” club issued a “brusque” statement, warning that use of the lido was “strictly for members only” with “no guests permitted”, reported The Times. Hancock has insisted he had been encouraged to test the waters by “enthusiastic” members.

Is Matt Hancock attempting a political comeback?

10. Upside down eating ad banned

An advert featuring a girl consuming Dairylea cheese while upside down has been banned following complaints that it could encourage unsafe behaviour. Fourteen people complained about the ad, which was shown on catch-up television last August, including one viewer who said a three-year-old relative had attempted to copy the move. The Advertising Standards Authority said it banned the ad after seeking advice from the Child Accident Prevention Trust.