Top story: Family mourn ‘beautiful’ stabbing victim
Morning everyone. I’m Martin Farrer and these are the top stories this Monday morning.
Khairi Saadallah, the 25-year-old suspect being held over Saturday’s alleged terror attack that left three people dead in Reading, was known to security services and other authorities. The Libyan refugee had been under investigation last year as a person who might travel abroad “for extremist reasons” but no genuine threat or immediate risk was identified. Intelligence agencies believe Saadallah had mental health problems. The family of the first victim to be named, James Furlong, paid tribute to a “beautiful, intelligent, honest and fun” man. A teacher who was head of history, government and politics at the Holt school in Wokingham, Furlong was remembered by one parent as “a great human being”.
It is believed Saadallah came to the UK after Libya erupted into civil war in 2014 as the country tried to rebuild after the western-backed ousting of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. There have been several similar terror-related knife attacks since Lee Rigby, a soldier, was stabbed to death outside Woolwich barracks in 2013.
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Lockdown lift – Boris Johnson will meet senior ministers and advisers today to rubber-stamp plans to relax some of England’s lockdown rules, including the much-anticipated full reopening of pubs and restaurants on 4 July. He is then expected to announce the changes to MPs tomorrow. Matt Hancock, the health secretary, did not rule out the possibility that drinkers and diners will be required to register their details as they enter the venue in order to help with tracking and tracing any outbreaks of Covid-19. The pub industry hopes the government will also relax the two-metre social distancing rule currently in force, calling it a “make or break” moment. Coffee drinkers may also be able to resume using keep cups after experts declared reusable containers safe. A new “spit test” for the virus will be trialled in Southampton in a breakthrough the government thinks will improve the system. Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, is expected to announce more help for the economy early next month but one of his Labour predecessors, Alastair Darling, has called on him to make an emergency cut in VAT to boost consumer spending.
Follow all the developments with out coronavirus live blog and there’s more on the crisis in our Coronavirus Extra section further down.
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‘Unprecedented find’ – A circle of deep shafts has been discovered near Stonehenge in Wiltshire in what archaeologists have described as the largest prehistoric structure ever found in Britain. It is believed that the Neolithic peoples who constructed Stonehenge 4,000 years ago also dug a series of shafts spanning 1.2 miles (2km) in diameter with Durrington Walls, one of Britain’s largest henge monuments, located precisely at its centre. Prof Vincent Gaffney, a leading archaeologist on the project, said: “This is an unprecedented find of major significance within the UK.”
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‘Not fit for office’ – John Bolton, the national security adviser ousted by Donald Trump, says the US president is “not fit for office” and hopes that he will be a one-term leader. The hawkish official left the White House after falling out with Trump and has now told his story in a new book that the president tried to ban. As the administration continued to try to rubbish claims that Trump asked Chinese president Xi Jinping for help to win the 2020 election, Bolton told ABC News that he would not vote for Trump in November’s election. You can read our review of Bolton’s book here. Trump said in an interview on Sunday that delicate trade talks meant he could not impose tougher sanctions on China for its treatment of Uighurs.
There was more bad news for Trump when it emerged that Tiktok users and K-pop fans were among young people who claimed tickets to Donald Trump’s rally in Tulsa at the weekend but did not attend, causing hundreds of seats to be left empty. The scheme appeared to stem from a tweet by the Trump campaign promoting free registration online and via mobiles. It quickly gained traction on the TikTok app, where young users implored followers to join in.
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Windrush drive – The Home Office is launching a £750,000 ad campaign as part of a drive to address the challenges faced by the Windrush generation, two years after the government promised to right the wrongs faced by those mistakenly classified as illegal immigrants. Duwayne Brooks, a campaigner and friend of the murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, has agreed to join the group, in recognition of the “terrible” treatment faced by the Windrush generation. Two sculptures honouring the Windrush generation will be unveiled outside Hackney town hall next year.
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Coronavirus Extra
The World Health Organization has reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases on Sunday, with the total rising by 183,020 in a 24-hour period. More than 9 million people have contracted the virus around the world and it has claimed the lives of 467,000. Authorities in India are converting 25 luxury hotels into Covid-19 care centres as the country’s situation worsens, while in Australia there is concern that the return to work could trigger a second wave. Leading figures from the UK arts such as Sir Mark Rylance and Neil Tennant have joined with the heads of scores of arts organisations to call for a green recovery from the coronavirus crisis, even as their own sector faces the biggest threat to its existence in modern times.
Today in Focus podcast
WhatsApp has accused an Israeli spyware company of hacking 1,400 of its users, including journalists, human rights activists and diplomatic officials. As new allegations emerge, Guardian US investigations correspondent Stephanie Kirchgaessner discusses how she first discovered the story
Lunchtime read: Martin Lewis: ‘The role I fill is important’
Martin Lewis, the hugely influential millionaire founder of MoneySavingExpert, has seen his professional life transformed by the coronavirus crisis as he takes up the cudgels on behalf of workers who have lost their income and jobs (“the role I fill is important”). He pounds the treadmill and tells Simon Hattenstone why the country needs radical social change to help those left at the bottom, why he would never go into politics and why having money is not the key to happiness.
Sport
Jürgen Klopp says Liverpool did not create enough chances to deserve a win after their first post-lockdown match ended in a 0-0 draw against Merseyside rivals Everton. And while they might be a point nearer the title, Liverpool’s incredible season could be about to end in an anticlimax, according to Jonathan Wilson. Newcastle moved into 13th with a 3-0 win over Sheffield United at St James’ Park thanks mainly to Allan Saint-Maximin, and there’s also hope that the stalled Saudi takeover of the club could yet go ahead after a crackdown on TV piracy in the kingdom. Chelsea beat Aston Villa 2-1 to deepen the latter’s relegation fears. The Bulgarian tennis star Grigor Dimitrov has apologised after testing positive for Covid-19 days after being pictured socialising with other leading players in Belgrade. In Britain, Dan Evans is looking forward to playing Andy Murray in the “Battle of the Brits” tournament that starts in London tomorrow. Chris Froome intends to ride in the Tour de France with Team Ineos, despite failing to agree a contract extension for next season, according to a teammate.
Business
Microsoft has joined calls for an antitrust investigation into App Store monopolies, piling more pressure on Apple as its prepares for its annual developer conference today. JD Sports’ Go Outdoors brand looks like being the latest corporate victim of the coronavirus amid reports that it is likely to enter administration in the next few days. The FTSE100 is poised to drop 0.44% this morning while the pound is on $1.238 and €1.104.
The papers
Near unanimity on the front pages of the papers today with all but one leading on the latest Reading terror attack line. The Guardian says “Suspect in Reading park attack ‘was on MI5 radar’”, while the Telegraph has “Terror suspect was on MI5 list” and the Times goes with “Libyan suspect in park killings known to MI5”.
The Mail has “Terror suspect on radar of MI5” and the Express says “Terror attack suspect known to MI5”, but both break things up a bit with a picture of Prince William and Prince Charles on Father’s Day. The Mirror headline is “Terror attack: suspect on MI5’s radar” and the i says “Park terror suspect had been under surveillance”. The FT is the only outlier, splashing with “Sunak poised to cut spending after summer of stimulus”.
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