Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 12 August 2022

1. Sunak challenges Truss on energy

Rishi Sunak has revealed plans that he hopes would cover the total cost of rising energy bills for up to 16m vulnerable people. Writing in The Times, the former chancellor said he would find up to £10bn to soften the impact of this October’s price rise, on top of the support announced by the government in May. Challenging his rival, Liz Truss, to follow suit, he said “you can’t heat your home with hope”. However, Truss said last night that energy giants’ profits should not be considered “dirty and evil”.

Is it time to nationalise energy companies?

2. Drought could be declared today

A drought is expected to be declared for south-west England as ministers meet with water companies to discuss a dry spell that scientists believe could persist well into the autumn. The announcement could lead to more hosepipe bans, see canals ordered to close to boats, and prompt extra measures to protect wildlife. There are fears a long drought would increase risks to food supplies, with potato, apple and hop harvests already expected to be depleted.

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Britain is getting wetter – so why are there hosepipe bans?

3. PM calls in lawyers over seat threat

Boris Johnson has sought legal advice over a privileges committee investigation that could result in him losing his seat. Some of Johnson’s senior team have accepted it is a “foregone conclusion” that he will be found in contempt of parliament after the committee of MPs concluded that he did not have to have knowingly misled the Commons to be found in contempt. The PM is arguing for a lenient punishment that would avoid a recall petition, which would result in him leaving the Commons just weeks after being forced out of Downing Street.

4. More shelling of nuclear plant

Further shelling of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been reported. Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting called to discuss the situation, the head of its nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, said it was a “grave hour”. Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for the attack, with each side saying there were ten hits on the office and fire station of Europe’s biggest power plant. China and the US have called for UN experts to be allowed to visit the plant.

Is Ukraine heading for another Chernobyl?

5. Trump warrant may be unsealed

The US Department of Justice is asking a Florida court to take the rare step of unsealing the warrant that let FBI agents search Donald Trump’s home. The move would make the documents available to the public. In a late night post on his Truth Social platform, the former US president said that he would “not oppose the release of documents”, adding that he is “going a step further by ENCOURAGING the immediate release of those documents”.

Pros and cons of prosecuting Donald Trump

6. Thinking can be as tiring as manual work

Experts believe they have discovered why a long, hard day of thinking can feel as exhausting as a day of manual labour. A new study has found that people feel tired after intense mental work because it causes potentially toxic by-products to build up in the prefrontal cortex part of the brain. This self-poisoning process makes continuing to think very difficult, and manifests as fatigue, tiredness and difficulty in making decisions, as the body and mind both need a break to excrete the toxins, according to the report in Current Biology.

7. Lammy breached MPs’ code

David Lammy has breached the MPs’ code of conduct by inadvertently failing to register interests. An investigation by Kathryn Stone, Parliament’s standards commissioner, found that the Labour MP for Tottenham failed to register 16 interests on time, including payments for tickets to American football and boxing matches in London. Under code of conduct rules, MPs must register changes to their financial interests within 28 days. Stone concluded that there was “no deliberate intention to mislead”.

8. Andrew still receives police protection

Prince Andrew still receives taxpayer-funded police protection, despite no longer undertaking official duties, The Telegraph reported. The Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures assessed the Duke of York’s entitlement to police bodyguards after he was exiled as a working royal by the Queen, but concluded that he was still entitled to the protection. The annual price tag for the royal’s personal security is unknown but has been estimated at anything between £500,000 and £3m.

The rise and fall of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson

9. Supermarkets ban disposable barbecues

Sainsbury’s and Tesco will remove disposable barbecues from their shelves as fears grow over the nation’s parched earth. Marks & Spencer, Aldi and Waitrose have already halted sales and fire brigades have called for all retailers to follow suit as the heatwave raises the risk of the grills sparking fires. Fire services are warning of “tinderbox conditions” and have asked people not to use barbecues in high risk places, such as balconies and on dry grass.

10. Cops criticised over ‘racist’ attack investigation

The family of a semi-professional footballer who was left with life-changing injuries have accused police of failing to properly investigate what they insist is a racially motivated attack. Billie Busari, 21, was hospitalised after being attacked by two white men while collecting a suit from Gunwharf Quays shopping centre in Portsmouth. His family say the attackers called him the N-word before breaking his jaw. His cousin said it took police almost two weeks to make contact with the family and they were “not doing enough” to investigate the attack.