Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 16 October 2022

1. Tories plot against Truss

Cabinet ministers are warning that Liz Truss’s time is up and backbenchers are plotting to “oust her”, reported The Sunday Times. One cabinet minister said: “If we don’t change horses soon we will be facing electoral annihilation.” Conservatives want Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to replace Truss as PM, reported the Sunday Mirror, while the Sunday Express said around 100 MPs are backing a plan to install a “unity candidate”.

2. No 10 chief lobbied for Libyan

The chief of staff at Downing Street lobbied UK ministers for a politician he falsely claimed was Libya’s “legitimate prime minister”, reported The Sunday Times. In a paid campaign, Mark Fullbrook encouraged the government to diverge from the official stance taken by the UN and US and recognise the authority of Fathi Bashagha, who led a failed military bid to storm Tripoli. Fullbrook told the paper last night he had removed himself from all foreign policy and security decisions relating to Libya.

3. Unions fear new austerity cuts

Health and teaching unions have shared their concern after the new chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, appeared to herald in a fresh era of austerity. Hunt warned of “very difficult decisions” for government budgets and said “all government departments are going to have to find more efficiencies than they were planning”. Teachers’ unions described his words as “disastrous” and “scary” and the NHS Confederation, which represents the healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, warned the prospect of further cuts was “incredibly grim”.

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4. Maxwell calls Andrew a ‘dear friend’

Prince Andrew’s “dream of rehabilitation” has been threatened after Ghislaine Maxwell described him as a “dear friend”, reported the Mail on Sunday. “I feel so bad for him,” said the disgraced former socialite. “Yes, I follow what is happening to him. He is paying such a price for the association [with Jeffrey Epstein]. I consider him a dear friend… I care about him.” In 2021, Maxwell was found guilty of child sex trafficking and other offences in connection with Epstein and was sentenced, in a New York court, to 20 years imprisonment.

5. Deaths at Russian training ground

At least 11 people were killed at a military training ground in the Belgorod region in Russia when two volunteers opened fire on other troops, the Russian defence ministry has said. During a training session, the two men opened fire on a group who had volunteered to fight in Ukraine, state-owned news agency Ria reported. The attackers, from a former Soviet republic, were also shot dead during the incident in the region, which borders Ukraine.

6. Xi opens historic congress

Xi Jinping has opened the 20th congress of China’s ruling Communist party with a speech that boasted of the party’s track record on national security. The week-long event is expected to see Xi win a third leadership term and confirm his place as the country’s most powerful ruler since Mao Zedong. “A sense of crisis has defined Xi’s rule”, said CNN, and “it will shape China well into the future”.

7. Uganda U-turns on Ebola lockdown

A three-week lockdown has been declared in two districts of Uganda as the country responds to an outbreak of Ebola. In a significant U-turn from Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, who previously said there was no need for curfews, bars, nightclubs, places of worship and entertainment venues will be closed in Mubende and neighbouring Kassanda. The latest outbreak has killed 19 people among 58 recorded cases but, said the BBC, the real number of deaths and cases “may be higher”.

8. Braverman cracks down on protest

Suella Braverman has announced plans for a major clampdown on disruptive protests carried out by environmental groups such as Just Stop Oil. The home secretary said the new Public Order Bill will stop demonstrators holding the public “to ransom” by empowering ministers to block protests causing “serious disruption” to key infrastructure and goods. However, Just Stop Oil said: “We will not be intimidated by changes to the law, we will not be stopped by injunctions sought to silence non-violent people”.

9. Coffey handed antibiotics to friends

The Health Secretary is under fire after she admitted to handing out her own stash of antibiotics to friends and family. Thérèse Coffey is considering plans to allow pharmacists to prescribe certain medications, including antibiotics and contraceptives, to patients without the advice of a GP. Thorrun Govind, of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said Coffey’s admission had “undermined the great work of healthcare colleagues working hard to prevent antibiotic resistance”.

10. Major says The Crown is ‘malicious’

Sir John Major has described The Crown as a “damaging and malicious fiction” and “a barrel-load of nonsense”, reported The Telegraph. There is concern in political circles that the series will “have the ability to inflict significant damage to the new King and his reputation so soon after the Queen’s death”, said the paper. There is pressure on Netflix to attach a “health warning” at the beginning of the forthcoming fifth series to make clear that parts of the script are a work of fiction.