Dominic Raab is making his first trip to Brussels as Brexit secretary, after David Davis resigned in protest at Theresa May’s plans. Raab, who was part of the 2016 EU referendum Leave campaign, will hold talks with Michel Barnier. Meanwhile, May says she will make a national tour this summer to woo the Tory grassroots on her Brexit strategy.
Daily Briefing
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Dominic Raab heads to Brussels as Brexit secretary
Bravery awards for London Bridge attack heroes
Eight people who confronted the perpetrators of the London Bridge terror attack in the capital last summer have been honoured for their bravery, two of them posthumously, by being included on the Queen’s Civilian Gallantry List. Spaniard Ignacio Echeverria was killed w he confronted a knife-wielding attacker with only a skateboard.
Novichok poisoning: police identify Russian suspects
Police say they have identified several Russians they suspect of carrying out the Novichok nerve agent poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury earlier this year. They said they had spotted suspects on CCTV recordings, and cross-checked the list with Russians known to be in the UK at the time.
Thai cave boys: ‘We tried to dig our way out’
The 12 Thai boys who spent more than two weeks trapped in a cave before being rescued last week have given a press conference with their 25-year-old coach, who said: “We took turns digging at the cave walls. We didn’t want to wait around until the authorities found us.” They survived by drinking water dripping down the walls of the cave.
BA apologises for ‘complete chaos’ at Heathrow
Dozens of flights in and out of Heathrow Airport were cancelled yesterday evening, prompting one passenger to complain of “complete chaos”. British Airways has apologised for “an issue with some of our IT systems”. Problems were also caused by a fire alarm in the airport’s air traffic control tower, which led some flights to be diverted.
Trump back-pedals further on Russian meddling
US President Donald Trump yesterday continued his U-turn on alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US election which brought Trump to office. He told an interviewer that he held Russian leader Vladimir Putin personally responsible for what happened and said he agreed with the assessment of US intelligence agencies that Russia is guilty.
Putin retracts claim made at Helsinki summit
Russia’s Vladimir Putin has said he made a “slip of the tongue” when he said American financier Bill Browder donated $400m to Hillary Clinton’s election campaign at a Helsinki press conference with Donald Trump, and meant to say $400,000. Browder, who has worked to have Putin’s overseas assets frozen, called it an “amateurish lie”.
Police rebuked over handling of hate crime
The police watchdog has said forces must do better in handling reports of hate crimes, which spiked after the 2016 EU referendum and may do so again when the UK leaves the EU in 2019. A report says police “should prepare for this eventuality”. It warns of a “postcode lottery” in how such crimes are handled by different police forces.
Boater accidentally drains Kennet and Avon canal
A canal boater accidentally completely drained a section of the Kennet and Avon canal in Wiltshire by leaving all the lock gates open. The Canal and River trust said the action was not malicious but the boater had been “rushing and left the paddles up”, adding that the paddles “work like a plug on a bath in allowing water in and out”.
Briefing: why Cliff Richard’s win against the BBC matters
The BBC has lost a privacy case brought to court by Sir Cliff Richard in a ruling it describes as a “dramatic shift against press freedom”.
The singer sued the BBC over its coverage of a police raid at his apartment in Sunningdale, Berkshire, in August 2014. Richard, who denied any wrongdoing and was never arrested nor charged for an offence, took legal action to redress the “profound and long-lasting damage” he suffered.
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