Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 10 June 2023

1. Johnson steps down as MP

Boris Johnson has stepped down as a Conservative MP after an investigation into the Partygate scandal found he misled parliament. The former PM, who saw in advance a report by the Commons Privileges Committee investigating if he misled the Commons, said the committee was a “kangaroo court” whose purpose “has been to find me guilty, regardless of the facts”. However, he hinted that he may attempt a return to the Commons, saying he was “very sad to be leaving parliament – at least for now”.

2. Trump ‘kept nuclear files’

Donald Trump has been charged with illegally keeping top secret files relating to America’s nuclear weapons after he left the White House. The former US president is accused of keeping a Pentagon “plan of attack” against Iran and highly sensitive documents from the CIA and National Security Agency. The federal indictment against Trump and an associate was unsealed yesterday. CNN said the details of the indictment are “jaw dropping”.

3. Putin says counteroffensive underway

Vladimir Putin said Ukraine had begun its long-awaited counteroffensive against Russian troops but that efforts “so far have failed”. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has made no official announcement or confirmation of a counteroffensive but praised the “heroism” of his country’s soldiers fighting “tough battles”. The counteroffensive is “ultimately expected to involve thousands of Ukrainian troops trained and equipped by the West”, said Reuters.

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4. Detectives probe hospital deaths

Police are investigating about 40 deaths at a hospital in Brighton following claims of medical negligence made by two consultant surgeons who lost their jobs after blowing the whistle about patient safety. The “allegedly botched” operations took place at Royal Sussex County hospital, when it was run by a management team praised by Jeremy Hunt as the best in the NHS, said The Guardian. Sussex police confirmed that they are investigating allegations of “criminal culpability through medical negligence” made by “two separate clinical consultants” at the trust.

5. Shadow minister suspended

A Labour shadow minister has had the party whip suspended after a complaint about his conduct. Bambos Charalambous, shadow Foreign Office minister and MP for Enfield Southgate, is under investigation. “It is right and proper that process is allowed to take place,” said Charalambous. “I will cooperate fully and play my full part. It is not appropriate to say anything further at this time.” Under Labour’s current complaints system, details of what has triggered an investigation into an MP are not publicly disclosed by the party, noted Politico.

6. Weapons found at attack school

Police investigating an attack at a boarding school in which two pupils and a member of staff were seriously injured have discovered a stash of weapons at the scene. One of the boys from Blundell’s school in Tiverton, Devon, is in a critical condition while the second is stable and the staff member has been discharged from hospital after being treated for serious injuries. A 16-year-old boy, also believed to be a pupil, has been arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

7. Canada smoke reaches Norway

Quebec has “made progress” in its battle to fight wildfires that have contributed to the smoke that “blanketed large parts of North America this week”, said the BBC. Canada is currently battling more than 400 wildfires burning across the country. Smoke from wildfires in Canada has drifted over Norway and is expected to hit southern Europe, reported The Guardian. In 2020, smoke from California’s record-breaking wildfires was detected in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago.

8. Osborne says Tories are in charge

Tories should stop blaming “the blob” for failures of government, George Osborne has said. In a speech, the former chancellor said the Conservatives had been in government for 11 years and they are “in charge of our country’s destiny”. His statement came after some Conservatives claimed “an amorphous ‘blob’ of political opponents in civil society and government” are “obstructing their policies – often blaming it when things go wrong”, noted The Independent.

9. Stewart charity defrauded

A charity fronted by Rory Stewart has been defrauded of nearly a million dollars. GiveDirectly sends aid directly to poor people across the world through mobile money transfers, in an approach designed to cut out middlemen. However, money started to go missing after the project extended its operations to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the poorest countries in the world. By the time the fraud was uncovered, at least $900,000 had been stolen, reported The Telegraph.

10. Student sued over sushi lick

A sushi chain is suing a high school student for 67 million yen (£381,000) after footage shared online showed him licking his finger then touching a plate of sushi as it passed him on the conveyor belt. Akindo Sushiro Co, which runs the Sushiro restaurant chain, claimed it has suffered a dramatic fall in trade after the footage of his actions at a Sushiro outlet in the city of Gifu went viral, reported Japanese broadcaster NHK. The student’s lawyer has suggested the decline in customers could be due to fierce competition in the industry.