Top story: ‘Protections must be put in place’
Hello, I’m Warren Murray and this is the briefing, all of a Monday morning.
More than 5,000 new homes in flood-risk areas of England have been granted planning permission so far this year. Insurers said they were concerned about the numbers of homes being built where owners were at risk of experiencing “traumatic and devastating losses”. But builders say the housing shortage means even flood-risk areas have to be used – and the climate crisis means more defences and mitigation measures need to be put in place.
An investigation by Greenpeace this year found that one-third of England’s most important flood defences were in private hands, with more than 1,000 in a poor state of repair. The government said it was investing over £5.2bn in flood and coastal defences in England, which would improve protection for more than 336,000 properties. “Our national planning policy is clear that floodplain development should be avoided wherever possible, and protections must be put in place when building in these areas is necessary – we expect local planning authorities to follow this guidance.”
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Car ploughs into Christmas parade – At least five people have been killed after a vehicle was driven at speed through a Christmas parade in a town in Wisconsin, police have confirmed. A red sport utility vehicle ploughed into marchers in Waukesha about 20 miles west of Milwaukee on Sunday afternoon, also injuring more than 40 people.
Police had opened fire on the vehicle in order to try to stop it, said the town’s police chief, Dan Thompson. One person of interest was in custody, he said, and the vehicle involved had been recovered.
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Johnson, Starmer woo CBI – Boris Johnson is to announce that all new buildings in England will have to install electric vehicle charge points from 2022. In a speech to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) today, the PM is due to say that the government expects it to lead to 145,000 new charging points each year. The government will also support a loan programme worth £150m to help British small and medium enterprises, including green businesses, commercialise their research. Keir Starmer will tell the CBI a Labour government would not “throw cash at” the country’s problems. Starmer will aim to woo a sector that Labour believes has been alienated by Johnson’s government. Labour has attacked the government for wasting billions of pounds on “crony Covid contracts”. Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, has said Labour would set up an “office for value for money”. Labour has made significant spending pledges, though, including £28bn of green investment each year until the end of the decade.
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Isis suspects buy freedom – Suspected Isis members are buying their way out jail in north-east Syria for the equivalent of £6,000 each, according to interviews with two freed men and official documents. As part of the deal, they sign a declaration promising not to rejoin any armed organisations and to leave the parts of north and east Syria under control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). About 10,000 such men are held in three overcrowded SDF-administered prisons in north-east Syria.
Separately, Bethany Haines – whose father, David Haines was captured by Isis in Syria and beheaded – has described watching the video of his murder and looking an alleged Islamic State killer in the eye in court. In the programme The Isis ‘Beatles’: Blood On Their Hands, to be broadcast on ITV today, Bethany tells of flying out to see El Shafee Elsheikh appear in court. He is charged over the beheading of four US hostages but not her father’s murder. “He just stared right into my eyes and I stared back. I’m not going to be intimidated by him. I’m not going to look away.”
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Crossrail at turning point – Hopes that Crossrail will open in central London in early 2022 – this time on schedule – have been boosted as the troubled £19bn scheme moved into its final phase of testing at the weekend. The trial operations phase will comprise more than 150 exercises over three to six months, involving thousands of volunteer passengers, to ensure that the Elizabeth line, as Crossrail will be known, is ready for full passenger service and can cope with emergency situations. TfL bosses have committed to open the line in full in the first half of next year. Initially, passengers will need to change trains between the new central underground section and the services already running from Reading in the west and Shenfield in the east, but TfL hopes some trains could run from suburbs across the city centre by next autumn, ahead of a May 2023 deadline.
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A dill – A “mortified” Australian TV reporter has tried to explain how he bungled an exclusive interview with Adele about her new album, 30, because he hadn’t actually listened to it. Matt Doran and a crew flew to London for the chat, which reportedly cost A$1m to secure and would have been Adele’s only Australian interview. After Doran conceded during the interview that he had only heard one track from her latest work, 30, the interview was canned. Doran said he missed the email that contained a preview of the album. Sony refused to release the footage of the interview.
Today in Focus podcast: Huma Abedin on being herself
As Hillary Clinton’s most trusted aide, it was her job to stay out of view. Even when her husband Anthony Weiner’s scandalous behaviour dragged her into the spotlight, she mostly stayed silent. In this interview, Huma Abedin explains why she is ready to tell her own story, in a memoir that sheds remarkable light on what it cost her to become a public figure against her will.
Lunchtime read: Brooke Shields as you’ve never seen her before
From Hollywood movies to naked photoshoots, Brooke Shields spent much of her youth in projects that now look more than a little creepy. She talks about her alcoholic mother, her new romcom and the happiness she has found in her 50s.
Sport
Manchester United are considering candidates including Zinedine Zidane, Mauricio Pochettino, Erik ten Hag, Luis Enrique and Brendan Rodgers to take charge from next summer after sacking Ole Gunnar Solskjær. Twenty races into a gruelling Formula One season, Lewis Hamilton remains relentless and unbowed in his determination to take the title fight to the wire after a dominant victory over rival Max Verstappen at the debut Qatar Grand Prix. Vivianne Miedema became the first player in WSL history to score against every team they have faced as the striker broke the deadlock in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Manchester United. Eddie Jones could face a challenge bringing Owen Farrell back into England’s team after Henry Slade’s finest display in the win over South Africa. Abby Dow led the way for England Women as they scored 15 tries in an 89-0 rout of USA at Sixways to equal the men’s team’s record of 18 successive Test wins.
Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai said she was safe and well in a video call on Sunday, the International Olympic Committee has said, amid growing international demands for assurances that she is free and not under threat. The head of the WTA said the video did not alleviate his concerns for Peng’s wellbeing. World No 1 Gerwyn Price defeated Peter Wright 16-8 to claim the Grand Slam of Darts trophy for a third time and lay down a marker ahead of December’s World Championship. Alexander Zverev beat the top two players in consecutive matches to earn his second title at the ATP Finals. Tiger Woods posted a short video showing him hitting golf balls on a driving range on Sunday, nine months after the 15-time major champion suffered serious leg injuries in a car crash. And Tim Paine has returned to the field for the first time since quitting as Australia’s Test skipper amid a sexting scandal and remains firmly committed to playing in the Ashes.
Business
CBI chief Tony Danker will tell the government today that levelling up cannot be left to the free market, with decades of “benign neglect” leaving the country with a “branch-line economy” where too many companies are centred on London and the south-east. But he says the UK has a “shot at redemption” if high-quality jobs green jobs are created in former industrial heartlands. The FTSE100 looks like lifting 0.3% this morning, while the pound is on $1.344 and €1.192.
The papers
The Guardian print edition leads this morning with “Don’t take us for granted, Tories warn PM amid social care revolt”. Boris Johnson faces a backbench rebellion with MPs due to vote this evening on plans to scale back the social care cap. The Department of Health and Social Care said it would calculate the £85,000 cap on lifetime care costs in a way that could leave tens of thousands of England’s poorest pensioners paying the same as wealthier people. Also on the front: “Protests against Covid curbs spread in Europe”, and “£1m a day: cost of test and trace consultants”.
The Telegraph says there is “Rage across Europe” with those opposed to Covid restrictions rioting just as a fresh wave of the virus spreads “at lightning speed”. The Times has “MPs may be avoiding big tax bills on second jobs” – our take here on that Times investigation. “PM’s mask slips again” – the Metro has Johnson not wearing one on a train. The Mirror takes us to Finland, where it exposes the “torment of animals on cruel fur farms” and says caged, maimed Arctic foxes are “Fashion victims” – with “top British stores” and their customers’ tastes complicit.
“Sex killer set free to target teenage girls” – the Daily Mail says the double child killer Colin Pitchfork has been put back in jail after approaching young women in the street. The i has “Booster jabs on way for all adults to beat winter wave”. For that story the Express rolls out another of its “save Christmas” headlines. And a frightening lead story in the Financial Times: “China missile fired during flight by hypersonic weapon confounds US”.
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