WeekDay AM: 10 Things you need to know this morning
Andrew's 'spy' associate, a warning from Nato, and Liverpool's Lourdes miracle

 
today's espionage story

'Spy' linked to Prince Andrew banned from UK

What happened
An alleged Chinese spy who was a business adviser to Prince Andrew has been excluded from the UK on national security grounds.

Who said what
The man, known only as H6, became so close to the Duke of York that he was invited to his birthday party, a secret hearing has been told.

The 50-year-old Chinese national was stopped at the border under counterterrorism laws in November 2021. Data downloaded from his phone "revealed his close relations to the late Queen Elizabeth's second son", said the Financial Times.

The Duke of York's links with China "stretch back to his days as a UK trade envoy", said The Times, a role he was given when he retired from the Royal Navy in 2001. He eventually stepped down "amid criticism over his friendship with (convicted sex offender Jeffrey) Epstein", said The Daily Telegraph.

Andrew Lownie, who is writing a biography of the Duke and Duchess of York, said the association with H6 was "really the tip of the iceberg of how Andrew has been abusing his position as a special representative". There is "very little to show for what he did for the interests of Britain as opposed to the interests of Prince Andrew", added Lownie.

What next?
H6 can no longer enter the country after his ban was upheld yesterday by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.

 
 
today's international story

Nato needs wartime mindset, says secretary-general

What happened
Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte has warned that Vladimir Putin wants to "wipe Ukraine off the map" and could come after other parts of Europe next. "It is time to shift to a wartime mindset," Rutte told security experts and analysts at the Carnegie Europe think tank in Brussels.

Who said what
"How many more wake-up calls do we need? Russia is preparing for long-term confrontation. With Ukraine, and with us," added Rutte.

In his address the Nato chief also cautioned about China's ambitions and said it was substantially building up its forces "with no transparency and no limitations".

What next?
The warnings "come weeks before president-elect Donald Trump takes office", said the BBC. Once he is back in the White House the issue of Nato members' defence spending is "set to become a hot topic", said The Independent.

Trump has previously said he would not protect "delinquent" countries that do not spend enough on their defences. Those comments have "raised fears over whether the US would act to help in a crisis", said Sky News.

 
 
Today's health story

Rising bowel cancer rate baffles experts

What happened
Rates of bowel cancer are rising among younger adults – and experts aren't sure why.

England is one the countries with the biggest increases at 3.6% a year, according to research published in the journal The Lancet Oncology. The study, which looked at 50 countries between 2007 and 2017, found 27 had seen a jump in cases among younger people.

Who said what
The rise in early onset colorectal cancer is "a global phenomenon", said study co-author Dr Hyuna Sung.

But Cancer Research UK spokesperson Jon Shelton stressed that rates among those aged under 50 in the UK were still very low, making it "difficult to say for certain why we are seeing rates increasing at a faster rate in one group over another".

What next?
Dr David Robert Grimes, an expert in biostatistics at Trinity College in Dublin who was not involved in the study, said the "conflicting and complicated data" meant more research was needed.

 
 

It's not all bad

The personal collection of the late entertainer Barry Humphries, famed for creating the character Dame Edna Everage, will be auctioned at Christie’s London on 13 February next year. One highlight of the collection is a pair of Dame Edna's diamante-encrusted Sydney Opera House spectacles, estimated to fetch £1,500. The sale also features rare books and 19th-century European art. Humphries, who passed away last year, was celebrated for his comedic brilliance and eclectic artistic tastes.

 
 
under the radar

Liverpool's Lourdes miracle

A Liverpool man whose debilitating injuries mysteriously vanished in 1923 experienced a "miracle", the Archbishop of Liverpool confirmed this week.

John "Jack" Traynor, who was injured while serving with the navy during the First World War, was reportedly cured while visiting the storied Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France – a site of prayer well visited since the 17th century.

In Catholic tradition "miracles" can be declared to recognise a holy event. While Traynor's "miraculous recovery" was reportedly well documented at the time, a miscommunication meant that the Liverpool Archdiocese was not able to declare his case miraculous for more than a century. This week Archbishop Malcolm McMahon made it official.

Traynor is one of only 71 supposed Lourdes miracles to be officially declared by the Catholic Church – and he is the first English person to be added to the register.

"It hasn't really sunk in yet," Traynor's great-great grandson Alex Taylor told the BBC. "This is going to have an effect beyond Merseyside and around the world. We are delighted."

"I hope that in February 2025, during the jubilee year, we will have a fitting celebration at the Metropolitan Cathedral to mark this significant moment in the history of our archdiocese, helping us all to respond to the jubilee call to be 'pilgrims of hope'," said McMahon this week.

 
 
on this day

13 December 2003

Saddam Hussein, the deposed Iraqi president, was captured by US forces during Operation Red Dawn after hiding underground near his home town of Tikrit. After his capture the former dictator immediately faced trial under the Iraqi Interim Government and was sentenced to death and executed on 30 December that same year.

 
 
Today's newspapers

The Daily Mail leads on the "close confidant" of Prince Andrew who has been banished from Britain over claims he is a Chinese spy. Jury trials could be axed for some criminal cases to ease record backlogs in the crown courts, says The Guardian. The broadsheet says "intermediate courts", with cases heard by a judge and magistrates, may be considered. Meanwhile, the Daily Star wonders if Kemi Badenoch is "a sarnie short of a picnic" after the Tory leader declared sandwiches are not "real food".

See the newspaper front pages

 
 
tall tale

Born to run … for governor

A candidate for New Jersey governor, Josh Gottheimer, has allegedly faked his Spotify Wrapped list, claiming that his top five most listened to songs of the year were all by New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen. Eagle-eyed internet sleuths noticed "the font, numerals and spacing" were different to those normally generated by Spotify, said The New York Times. Some have accused him of "fibbing about his fandom to drum up voter support among Boss-loving Garden State residents", said the New York Post.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Arion McNicoll, Jamie Timson, Abby Wilson, Sorcha Bradley and Chas Newkey-Burden, with illustrations by Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Justin Tallis / AFP / Getty Images; Dursun Aydemir / Anadolu / Getty Images; Pony Wang / Getty Images.