Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 5 June 2022

1. Tories face ‘bruising’ by-election defeat

A new survey suggests that the Conservatives will suffer a “bruising result” at a forthcoming by election, said Sky News. A survey of voters in Wakefield, who go to the polls for a by-election on 23 June to elect a new MP, suggests the Tories could lose by as much as 20 points. Meanwhile, more than 40 Conservative MPs have publicly called on the PM to resign over the lockdown party scandal, which returned to the spotlight following the Sue Gray report.

2. Prince Charles praises ‘mummy’

The Prince of Wales paid tribute to his “mummy”, the Queen, at the Platinum Party at the Palace last night. “You laugh and cry with us and, most importantly, have been there for us, for these 70 years,” Charles said. He told the British public they are what “gets my mother up in the morning”. The fourth and final day of Platinum Jubilee celebrations will be dominated by a parade and pageant in London.

3. Man falls into river after Tasering

A man is in a critical condition in hospital after being Tasered by police and falling in the River Thames. Officers were called to reports of a man armed with a screwdriver and shouting on Chelsea Bridge Road, in Chelsea, on Saturday morning. A Met spokesman said the man with a Taser “did not enable the officers to safely detain him” and he “subsequently entered the river”. He was rescued by the RNLI who took him to hospital.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

4. Labour claims patriotism tag

Labour has claimed to be the true party of patriotism and the best of British values. Writing for The Observer, Lucy Powell, the shadow secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, said “progressive politics has been at its most successful and transformational when it captures the best of British values, nurtures our world-famous institutions and instils a belief that our best days lie ahead of us, not just in the past,” adding: “It’s not the Conservative party which enshrines these patriotic principles but Labour.”

5. Ukraine bites back at Macron

Ukraine has criticised French President Emmanuel Macron after he said it was vital that Russia was not humiliated over its invasion. Macron, who has repeatedly spoken to Putin by phone during the conflict, said it was crucial the Russian president had a way out of what he called a “fundamental error”. However, Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a tweet that “calls to avoid humiliation of Russia can only humiliate France and every other country that would call for it”.

6. Deaths after Bangladesh fire

At least 16 people have died and more than 150 were left injured after a huge fire swept through a container depot in Bangladesh. The blaze triggered multiple explosions when it broke out on Saturday night at a facility in the southeastern town of Sitakunda. Twenty of the injured are in critical condition with burns covering 60% to 90% of their bodies, a doctor told AFP. The BBC said fires are common in Bangladesh.

7. North Korea fires eight missiles

North Korea fired eight short-range ballistic missiles into the waters off its east coast on Sunday, according to reports. The missiles were fired from the Sunan area of the North Korean capital Pyongyang, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said. Japan’s Kyodo news agency, citing a government source, also said the North had launched multiple missiles. The launches come a day after South Korea and the US wrapped up military exercises involving an American aircraft carrier.

8. Minister was warned on travel

Unions say the government was warned in January that the flight chaos witnessed last week was “inevitable” and that ministerial intervention was urgently required to prevent the disruption. During a telephone call with unions, aviation minister Robert Courts was told that the industry wouldn’t be able to cope with high demand unless it received help to offset chronic staff shortages. “The minister was directly warned this was inevitable. They have to accept some responsibility,” said a union source.

9. Arrests on Tiananmen anniversary

Six people have been arrested in Hong Kong as authorities clamped down on public commemoration of the Tiananmen Square massacre, in which China’s rulers crushed peaceful protests with tanks and troops. Police confirmed five men and one woman had been arrested in the vicinity of Victoria Park, where a candlelight vigil marking the 1989 crackdown in Beijing would have been held. Three were accused of obstructing officers and one was said to have incited others to join an unauthorised assembly.

10. Carey sued over Christmas hit

Mariah Carey has been sued over her Christmas hit All I Want for Christmas Is You by a songwriter who said he co-wrote a song with the same title five years earlier. In a complaint filed in New Orleans federal court, Andy Stone is seeking at least $20m in damages from Carey, her co-writer and Sony Music Entertainment for copyright infringement and misappropriation, among other claims. He accused the defendants of having illegally exploited his “popularity and unique style”. However, said CNN, Carey’s and Stone’s songs have different lyrics and melodies.