Top story: ‘Citizens like me are relieved’
Hello – Warren Murray with the essential stories of Friday.
The Strasbourg attack suspect Chérif Chekatt was shot dead last night by police on a street in the city’s south-east. Authorities said three officers came across him around 9pm local time and he fired at them with an old revolver – “They immediately returned fire and neutralised the assailant,” said the French interior minister, Christophe Castaner.
The final deadly encounter in the Neudorf area came 48 hours after Chekatt shot and stabbed people in the city’s Christmas market, killing three and leaving a dozen wounded. Strasbourg’s mayor, Roland Ries, told reporters: “I think it will help to get back to a life that I would describe as normal. With the death of this terrorist … citizens, like me, are relieved.”
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‘The backstop is not a trap’ – Theresa May had a rocky start in Brussels last night in her attempts to turn the Brexit deal into something MPs might vote for. What is being called the “joint interpretative instrument” – a legal 12-month time limit on the Irish backstop – was opposed by Ireland, France, Sweden, Spain and Belgium, whose leaders said they doubted she would be able to sell it to hostile MPs. The idea did win support from Germany’s Angela Merkel and Austria’s Sebastian Kurz. May had told the summit that “we have to change the perception that the backstop is a trap”. The government has manoeuvred to delay the “meaningful vote” until January but Jeremy Corbyn plans to turn up the heat on May to bring matters to a head: “The prime minister should put her deal before parliament next week, in our country’s interest.” Another senior Labour source joined the fusillade with a coruscating mixed metaphor: “Essentially we can throw the parliamentary kitchen sink at them, with all the trimmings.”
The BBC sport presenters Gary Lineker and Jonathan Agnew have added some colour to the circumstances, getting into an argument over Lineker’s pro-remain remarks and tweets. “Gary. You are the face of BBC Sport,” wrote Agnew. “Please observe BBC editorial guidelines and keep your political views, whatever they are and whatever the subject, to yourself. I’d be sacked if I followed your example.” Lineker replied: “I’ll continue to tweet what I like and if folk disagree with me then so be it.”
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‘NRA spy’ pleads guilty – Maria Butina has become the first Russian national convicted as a result of Robert Mueller’s investigation of interference in the 2016 presidential election. Butina pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in exchange for less prison time.
The scheme under which she worked her way into Republican and National Rifle Association circles was guided and financed in part by Alexander Torshin, an ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin and deputy governor of the Russian central bank. Putin, speaking in Moscow this week, said: “I asked all the heads of our intelligence services what is going on. Nobody knows anything about her.”
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‘Not goodbye, but goodnight’ – David Dimbleby has hosted his last Question Time, ending a 25-year run. His guests on the final programme were the former Brexit secretary David Davis, Green MP Caroline Lucas, the shadow education secretary, Angela Rayner, comedian Jo Brand and the former education secretary Nicky Morgan.
Dimbleby thanked the audience members, who gave him a standing ovation: “[The audiences have] exercised what I think is a really important democratic right, putting questions to the panel and to argue with each other, as you have been tonight.” Fiona Bruce will be taking over hosting duties.
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Hidden homelessness – More than 24,000 people in Britain will spend Christmas sleeping rough or in cars, trains, buses or tents, says the charity Crisis. The figures suggest the number of rough sleepers in Britain has risen by 98% since 2010, while the number in tents and buses has increased by 103%. The figures show 82,310 households were in temporary accommodation at the end of June 2018. Greg Beales, a campaign director at Shelter, said: “A cramped room in an emergency B&B or hostel is no place for a child to live.” The Crisis chief executive, Jon Sparkes, urged the Scottish government to urgently implement its plan to eradicate homelessness and said England and Wales must “step up urgently” with their own plans.
Help bring down the hostile environment
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Today in Focus podcast: Is the net closing on Donald Trump?
The investigation into the president’s election campaign has resulted in guilty pleas from some of his former inner circle.
The Guardian’s Jon Swaine in New York considers what we have learned so far from Robert Mueller’s forensic investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 US election. Plus: Robert Booth on the first phase of the inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire.
Lunchtime read: ‘Someone called me the antichrist’
Christmas No 1 was once a fiercely fought-over prize. From Rage Against the Machine v Joe McElderry, Slade v Wizzard and George Michael in Wham! v George Michael in Band Aid, winners and losers recall the great festive stand-offs.
Sport
Long-serving Aston Villa coach Kevin MacDonald has been stood down following a complaint of relentless bullying from former player Gareth Farrelly. MacDonald was found guilty of bullying following a Premier League investigation in 2015 and 2016, but the resurfacing of historical allegations prompted the club to act, writes David Conn.
Chelsea have condemned their own fans after supporters were heard singing an antisemitic chant during a Europa League fixture in Hungary. The match against Videoton finished 2-2 with an Olivier Giroud free-kick rescuing a point. Meanwhile, a goal from Alexandre Lacazette has handed Arsenal maximum points at home to Qarabag in a match that featured the long-awaited return of Laurent Koscielny. In the NBA, Toronto Raptors fired an early season warning, emphatically beating the team many consider their potential finals opponent, as they downed the Golden State Warriors 113-93. In Perth the second Test between Australia and India is under way with Australia winning the toss and electing to bat.
Business
Mike Ashley says Britain’s high streets risk being “smashed to pieces” after lack of consumer confidence around Brexit led to an “unbelievably” bad month for the sector. “Retailers just cannot take that kind of November,” the Sports Direct boss said.
On the markets, Asian shares were down heavily after weak Chinese retail and industrial production figures pointed to a continuing slowdown in the powerhouse economy. Shares in London are set to drop 0.9% when trading opens later this morning. The sickly pound has dropped 0.2% overnight to $1.263 and €1.112.
The papers
Theresa May’s attempt to win concessions from EU leaders on her Brexit deal is the splash for several papers today, including the Guardian: “May pleads with EU leaders in last-ditch bid to save Brexit deal”, the i: “No Christmas present for May from EU”, the Express: “You’ve got to give me your best deal”. The Telegraph has “EU turns deaf ear to May as her Brexit promises unravel” and the Times says: “Tories face lasting split over Brexit, MPs warn”.
The Sun has news of a shift in the format of Jeremy Clarkson’s The Grand Tour, under the headline “Gear change”. The Mail says: “Council tax bombshell”, reporting that millions of families will see hikes of more than £100 next year. The Mirror’s splash is “Laughing all the way to the foodbank”, branding Tories who have been photographed at foodbanks guilty of “shameless hypocrisy” given their role in austerity policies, and the FT has: “Draghi calls time on ECB’s €2.6tn eurozone stimulus experiment”.
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