Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Telegraph
The Telegraph
National
Chris Price

Friday morning UK news briefing: Rishi Sunak insists he will not stand aside in TV grilling

Morning UK news briefing: Today's top headlines from The Telegraph
Morning UK news briefing: Today's top headlines from The Telegraph

Rishi Sunak has insisted he will not drop out of the Tory leadership race, despite opinion polls showing that Liz Truss has double his support among party members. 

Asked during a Sky News debate on Thursday night whether he would quit the race, the former chancellor said: "The quick answer is no". 

He stressed that he would continue "fighting". 

Two opinion polls this week have put Mr Sunak 32 percentage points and 34 percentage points behind Ms Truss, the Foreign Secretary. 

Ms Truss and Mr Sunak clashed about the likelihood of recession and the best way to tackle the forecasted downturn and soaring inflation during the special programme. 

Madeline Grant sketches how Ms Truss garbled and Mr Sunak gesticulated as the Tory contenders went over old ground. 

Our writers give their verdicts on who won the TV event here.

Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer has been found to have breached the MPs' code of conduct by failing to register on time eight interests, including gifts from football teams and the sale of a plot of land. 

An inquiry into the Labour leader was opened in June by Kathryn Stone, the parliamentary standards commissioner, relating to claims about the late declaration of earnings and gifts, benefits or hospitality from UK sources. 

Speaking at the time, Sir Keir said he was "absolutely confident" he had not broken the MPs' code of conduct. Read what the commissioner has now found.

Households face biggest fall in real incomes on record

The Bank of England has warned that households will suffer the biggest income squeeze on record as soaring energy prices plunge the UK economy into a year-long recession. Governor Andrew Bailey said families faced a "very big" shock to their finances as interest rates were raised to 1.75pc, the highest since 2008. Here are three charts that show the economic disaster facing Britain and Szu Ping Chan analyses how runaway inflation raises doubts over the Bank's power to rescue the economy. To make matters worse, savers are not getting their due from rising interest rates, the Bank of England said, as it warned it was "watching very carefully" whether banks passed on increases fairly.

Lewis' passionate debut as he switches to music

"You! Are at … our … very first! Ever! Gig!" proclaimed Damien Lewis, as commandingly as if delivering Shakespeare with a few Pinteresque pauses. He played a double agent in Homeland, an insider trader in Billions and an unusually slender Henry VIII in Wolf Hall. But Lewis's latest and perhaps most personal role is as a soulful singer-songwriter. The TV and film star, 51, took to the tiny stage at London's Omeara club carrying an acoustic guitar and backed by a six-piece band of jazzy virtuosos playing flowing, intense, sophisticated songs of love and loss. Neil McCormick reviews the debut from the actor turned pop star.

Today's political cartoon

The Bank of England's response to the inflation crisis was behind Blower's latest cartoon. Matt is away, but you can view his latest work here.

Also in the news: Today's other headlines

Water crisis | The water boss in charge of a mothballed emergency plant was given a £500,000 bonus last year, annual accounts have revealed, as the company faced questions over its drought readiness. Read on for details. Meanwhile, Germany's Rhine river is on the brink of closure as critically low water levels force one of the country's biggest gas companies to warn it may have to cut energy output.

Around the world: Jones to pay $4m over hoax claim

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been told by a US jury to pay at least $4.1 million (£3.4m) in compensation to parents of a child killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre after he falsely claimed it was a hoax. Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin – the parents of Jesse, 6, who died alongside 19 of his classmates and staff at the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut – sued Mr Jones for $150m in damages for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Read how the amount that Mr Jones is ordered to pay could yet rise following the two-week trial in Austin, Texas.

Alex Jones claimed the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax - Briana Sanchez/Austin American-Statesman via AP
Alex Jones claimed the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax - Briana Sanchez/Austin American-Statesman via AP

Comment and analysis

Sport briefing: Chelsea nears £300m record spree

Chelsea are pushing to take their transfer spending close to a record £300million this summer as they finally step up their pursuit of a number of big-name targets with the Premier League season about to begin. Talks are to take place with Barcelona over the potential signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and, separately, and more immediately, hijacking Manchester United's protracted attempts to acquire midfielder Frenkie de Jong for an initial £63million. Read on for their other bids. In tennis, Emma Raducanu suffered blister problems which left the skin "ripping off" her injured hand as she battled through to reach the Citi Open quarter-finals, raising concern weeks before her US Open defence.

Editor's choice

  1. Hidden gems | 50 TV shows you probably aren't watching – but should be
  2. Worried about a drought? | Try finding your own water supply – with a stick
  3. Mad swans and jolly naturists | On board with Britain’s quirkiest theatre company

Business briefing: Tax record amid landlord exodus

A crackdown on buy-to-let properties and soaring house prices have helped the Treasury collect the highest amount of capital gains tax on record. Tax paid on capital gains soared 42pc to £14.3bn in the tax year just ended, new figures show. A decade ago, just £3.8bn was collected by HMRC. An all-time high of 323,000 people were forced to pay the duty during the period, with the average bill hitting £44,272. Experts said the surge could be put down to landlords abandoning the buy-to-let sector and second home owners cashing in on the pandemic property boom while stamp duty was scrapped. Average property prices also jumped.

Tonight's dinner

Crispy chicken thighs with chicken schmaltz, creamed corn and herbed feta | One thigh each is enough in this filling and satisfying dish from Eleanor Steafel.

Gardening: Jobs to do in August

This is often the hottest month of the year and unless you have planned carefully it can also be a moment when the garden starts to look a bit tired and lacking in flowers. However, this is easy to remedy, and colourful stunners such as dahlias, sunflowers, crocosmia and cannas step up now, while gardens planted in a subtropical style are reaching their height. The vegetable garden is hugely productive this month, and added to the outdoor bounty is the beginnings of the luxurious greenhouse harvest: tomatoes, aubergines and peppers are beginning to ripen. Read on for the jobs to do around your outdoor space this month.

And finally... for this morning's downtime

Siegfried, review | There is plenty to enjoy in this third part of Valentin Schwarz's new Ring at Bayreuth, though a lot still remains opaque or unexplained. Opera critic Nicholas Kenyon reviews how this evening of Wagner is at once powerful and baffling.

If you want to receive twice-daily briefings like this by email, sign up to the Front Page newsletter here. For two-minute audio updates, try The Briefing - on podcasts, smart speakers and WhatsApp.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.