Top story: May’s claim draws fire
Hello, this is Alison Rourke with the top stories to start your week.
Theresa May has come under fire for promising that a Brexit windfall will provide an extra £400m a week for the NHS. May – who will pledge an extra £20bn in annual real terms from 2023-24 in a major speech – has been ridiculed for linking the money to Brexit savings. “At the moment, as a member of the European Union, every year we spend significant amounts of money on our subscription, if you like, to the EU,” she said on BBC One’s Andrew Marr show. “When we leave we won’t be doing that.”
Two senior Tory MPs, who are also doctors, took aim at May: “The Brexit dividend tosh was expected but treats the public as fools. Sad to see Govt slide to populist arguments rather than evidence on such an important issues,” tweeted Sarah Wallaston, who chairs the Commons health and social care committee. Dr Philip Lee, MP for Bracknell, tweeted: “There is no evidence yet that there will be a ‘Brexit dividend’ – so it’s tax rises, more borrowing or both.”
The PM’s decision to frame extra spending specifically as a benefit of leaving the EU has been widely seen as a sop to hardline Brexiters in her cabinet, echoing Boris Johnson’s suggestion during the EU referendum that Brexit would free up £350m a week extra for the NHS.
Melania Trump speaks out– The First Lady has spoken out against children being held separately from their parents at the US-Mexico border, in a rare public statement at odds with her husband’s hard-line on immigration. “Mrs Trump hates to see children separated from their families,” a spokesperson said. “We need to be a country that follows all laws”, but also one “that governs with heart”. The unusual public intervention from Melania Trump came as reports emerged of immigrant children being held in cages created out of metal fencing at a warehouse in Texas, after being separated from their parents. One cage had 20 children inside.
Russia’s nuclear bunker – Vladimir Putin appears to have upgraded a nuclear weapons storage bunker in the country’s Kaliningrad enclave, which lies between Poland and Lithuania. In the latest sign of Moscow’s increased emphasis on nuclear arms in its standoff with Nato, the Federation of American Scientists will publish satellite images on Monday, which the organisation says will show the facility being deepened and covered with a new concrete roof in recent months. “It has all the fingerprints of typical Russian nuclear weapons storage sites,” said Hans Kristensen, the director of the nuclear information project at FAS.
Refugee suicides raise alarm – At least three teenage refugees arriving in Britain from Calais’s migrant camp in the last six months have killed themselves. Three young men from Eritrea, two aged 18 and one aged 19, took their own lives in London, all having fled conflict without their parents. The lawyer for one of the refugees has called for the coroner to examine the actions of the local authorities responsible for him, the adequacy of his accommodation, of the age assessments, and of access to mental health services.
David Dimbleby calls time – David Dimbleby will step down as chair of the BBC’s Question Time after 25 years. But the veteran presenter, who turns 80 this year, said he had no plans to retire from journalism. “Instead, after years in the studio, I now plan to return to my first love: reporting,” he said. Speculation has begun as to who will replace him in December, with leading internal candidates including Today hosts Mishal Husain and Nick Robinson, as well as Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis and Kirsty Wark.
Windrush Day – An annual celebration of the Windrush generation and their descendants will be held on 22 June – the day the MV Empire Windrush arrived in Tilbury Docks in 1948, carrying about 500 migrants. The communities minister, Lord Bourne, said the annual event would help to “recognise and honour the enormous contribution” of those who arrived between 1948 and 1971. The move comes after the Guardian revealed how some members of the Windrush generation and their children were wrongly detained and deported and others were denied access to healthcare, work, housing benefits and pensions.
World Cup
Here we go again. Strap yourselves in for the ride: England’s long-awaited campaign finally kicks off today, against Tunisia in the Volgograd Arena. Nothing changes when it comes to the raised expectations surrounding England on the eve of another World Cup adventure – Tunisia coach Nabil Maâloul said England could win the tournament – but Gareth Southgate is at least aiming to change the perception of English football as he sends his young, vibrant team out in Russia.
In Moscow, Joachim Löw accepted his defending champions had been “negligent” and “haphazard” after Germany’s Group F defeat against Mexico – one of the North American nation’s greatest victories – while it didn’t go to script for Brazil either; the five-times world champions were held by Switzerland in their opening match.
And in Mexico City, jubilant fans set off earthquake sensors as they celebrated their team’s winning goal in their match against Germany. Highly sensitive earthquake sensors registered tremors at two sites, seven seconds after the game’s 35th minute, when star player Hirving Lozano scored.
Don’t forget you can follow all day five’s news and action with our rolling live blog before individual live blogs for each match, including the big one in Volgograd.
Get our podcast and email – During the World Cup, the Football Weekly pod squad is going daily. Every day there is a game, join Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning, special guests in the studio and Football Weekly regulars in Russia for insight and analysis. Also for the duration, the Fiver email becomes the World Cup Fiver. Subscribe to receive it each weekday.
Lunchtime read: ‘Use it or lose it’ – how to improve your memory
Struggling to remember what’s on your to do list this week? Maybe you’re not getting enough sleep. As Nic Fleming writes, there’s substantial evidence that REM (rapid eye movement sleep – the sleep that dominates in the hours before waking) plays a vital part in consolidating memories relating to learning motor skills, such as learning to play a musical instrument or ride a bike.
Learning a complex new skill can also lead to significant improvements in episodic memory tests. And if you’re not convinced by either of those, thinking positive appears to boost memory performance.
Sport
Brooks Koepka made history by becoming just the third man since the war to win back-to-back US Open titles after holding off Tommy Fleetwood to retain the crown at Shinnecock Hills.
England’s fifth successive Test defeat and the loss of the series in South Africa has exposed an unhealthy regime that needs a drastic reboot, writes Rob Kitson.
Johanna Konta, who blew a 4-1 lead in the deciding set and went on to lose the Nature Valley Open final to Ash Barty, launched a passionate tirade at the umpire and stormed off the court. “This is an absolute joke,” she shouted. “We are out here busting our chops. You are making decisions that affect all our lives.” Meanwhile Novak Djokovic has warned Andy Murray of the perils of grass on the eve of his return to Queen’s.
Coryn Rivera won the OVO Energy Women’s Tour as Dani Rowe pedalled through the pain barrier to clinch third place. And Royal Ascot has stepped up its crackdown on brawling amid the finery, with new initiatives to be introduced, including more use of sniffer dogs.
Business
Debit card payments have outstripped cash transactions for the first time according to banking industry figures. We used debit cards 13.2bn times in 2017, while our cash payments fell 15%.
On the markets, there were more falls in Asia overnight as investors recoiled at the prospect of a sustained trade war between the US and China. Beijing’s state media has responded with an anti-Trump tirade, saying: “The wise man builds bridges, the fool builds walls.”
China says Shares in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai were all in the red, though the FTSE 100 is expected to open more or less flat later today. The pound is buying $1.327 and €1.144.
The papers
There is one story dominating the front pages today – Theresa May’s promise of extra funding for the NHS, a claim many of the papers are sceptical of.
“May under fire for claim ‘Brexit dividend’ will fund NHS windfall,” says the Guardian. “Black hole in May’s cash plan for NHS,” is the Times’ take, while the FT has: “May faces Tory backlash over funding of £20bn NHS boost”. The Telegraph is worried about a “Stealth tax to pay for NHS boost”.
Meanwhile the Daily Mail reports the story, but turns its critical attention onto the NHS, saying May was warned that “NHS waste” must be cut as spending was increased, with “Let’s go to war on NHS waste”.
For more news: www.theguardian.com
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