Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 12 September 2022

1. Mourners prepare to pay respects

The Queen’s coffin arrived at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh yesterday after the six-hour journey from Balmoral Castle, during which thousands of onlookers threw flowers in the path of the cortege and applauded. Later today, the coffin will be driven to St Giles’ Cathedral, where the public can pay their respects. On Tuesday, the coffin will be flown to London, and the Queen will lie in state at Westminster Hall, with five-mile queues expected as people line up to file past the coffin 24 hours a day until the morning of the funeral next Monday.

How will the UK change following the Queen’s death?

2. Charles ‘role-played with Cameron’

King Charles practised weekly audiences with David Cameron when he was heir to the throne, reported The Times. The former Tory PM said that Charles, as the Prince of Wales, held meetings with him so that he could prepare for his forthcoming role. Cameron told the BBC that the audiences he had with Charles suggested that he would be “brilliant” in the role – “brilliant at listening, brilliant at asking questions, giving wise advice and sage counsel”.

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What kind of king is Charles likely to be?

3. Russia knocks out power

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Moscow aims to “deprive people of light and heat” by causing power cuts across eastern Ukraine in revenge for a Ukrainian counter-offensive. After Kyiv claimed it had retaken over 3,000 sq km (1,158 sq miles) during a rapid counter-offensive in the east, blackouts have reportedly affected around nine million people in regions including Kharkiv and Donetsk. “Russians want to leave us without light, water and heat,” said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office.

Ukraine launches ‘long-anticipated’ counteroffensive in Kherson

4. Millions pushed to private healthcare

Millions of patients are being forced to pay for private healthcare amid record NHS waiting lists, according to a survey by charity Engage Britain. One in 10 (10%) adults in the UK has turned to the private sector or independent healthcare in the last 12 months, and, of those, almost two-thirds (63%) did so because they faced long delays or could not access treatment on the NHS. Almost half (46%) were forced to reduce their spending in other areas, raid savings, or plunge themselves into financial debt to pay for it.

The boom in private healthcare: a two-tier system?

5. Clashes at Paris protests

Dozens of demonstrators have been arrested in Paris amid anger over rising prices in France. Activists were challenged by mobile riot police around the Place de la République and also near the Champs Elysées. Most of those detained were fined for “gathering with the intention of committing violence or damaging property”. The government fears a revival of the “yellow vests” movement that began in 2018 and grew into a “violent urban insurrection that shook the Macron administration,” said The Times.

6. Truss criticised for Treasury sacking

Two former cabinet secretaries have criticised Liz Truss for sacking the top official at the Treasury within days of becoming PM. After Sir Tom Scholar was fired this week, Lord Butler and Lord O’Donnell criticised the decision, saying it compromised civil service independence. The BBC said the sacking has been seen as part of a pledge by Truss to change “Treasury orthodoxy,” while the FT noted the PM has been accused of an “ideological purge”.

Who is serving in Liz Truss’s cabinet?

7. Far-right ‘earthquake’ in Sweden

Sweden’s election was too close to call on Sunday night, said the prime minister. Although exit polls initially predicted victory for the incumbent left-wing coalition, later results suggested the right-wing bloc could sneak a win and The Guardian said the far-right Sweden Democrats “appear to be close to causing an earthquake in Swedish politics”. As the race is so close, the final outcome may have to wait until the middle of the week when all votes, including postal and advance votes, are counted.

Why the far-right is surging in Sweden

8. Muslims ‘second-class’ in Britain

British Muslims have had their citizenship reduced to “second-class” status, according to a respected think-tank. The Institute of Race Relations said the targets of recently extended powers to strip people of their nationality are almost exclusively Muslims, mostly of south Asian heritage. The report’s author, Frances Webber said that the message sent by the legislation and its implementation against this demographic is that, “despite their passports, these people are not and can never be ‘true’ citizens, in the same way that ‘natives’ are”.

Is the UK's relationship with Muslim communities 'broken'?

9. US women arrive in UK for abortions

Women have been travelling from the US for abortions in the UK after millions of them lost their legal right to have a termination in their home country, reported The Independent. One of the UK’s leading abortion providers said that while only a handful, the number of women coming from the US has increased since Roe v Wade Wade – the landmark decision that legalised abortion – was scrapped. “We are seeing people from America travel here for abortions, which is just unbelievable,” she said.

How the world reported the US Supreme Court’s abortion rights ruling

10. Stormzy joins Kaba demonstration

Stormzy has joined a protest in support of the family of Chris Kaba, who was shot dead by armed Metropolitan Police officers in south London. The rapper said there was no way to “sugar coat” what had happened to Kaba and urged protesters to “have stamina” in their efforts to raise awareness of his death and its circumstances. Kaba, who was due to become a father, died in hospital in the early hours of Tuesday after being shot by police last Monday in Streatham Hill.