Top story: Had enough time to make up your mind?
Hello, it’s Warren Murray bringing you the Briefing on this momentous morning of Britain’s “snap” general election.
The polls open at 7am. Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn spent the campaign’s last day criss-crossing the country in a final bid to sway voters. Last night Corbyn told a packed-to-overflowing rally inside an Islington church that his cherished fight for the many, not the few, is now “the new mainstream, and we have staked it out and made it our own, together”. May focused her last day of campaigning on marginal Labour-held seats where she called for “fiercely patriotic” voters to switch sides.
Brexit was the pretext for this election but, says our editorial, it received only superficial treatment from May and Corbyn in the campaign – unfortunate given that the manner of Britain’s departure from the EU is so important. You probably already know that the Guardian has declared its support for Labour. It’s not too late to make your own informed choice – our postcode search tool identifies the local candidates, and we have compared the party manifestos for you as well. If you particularly don’t want the Tories to win, here’s our tactical voting tool that might help you decide which box to mark on your ballot paper.
Make sure to follow our comprehensive live coverage, and today more than ever you need the Snap, the election-only cousin of the Briefing. Read to the bottom for details.
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Skill and bravery – Dramatic CCTV footage shows the few seconds in which police were forced to shoot and kill the London Bridge terrorists or be stabbed themselves. The video is grainy but graphic. It shows Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba rushing at the armed officers, who manage to open fire just in time. One marksman falls to the ground with his attacker.
The victims – all but one of them from overseas – have now all been identified, including a Frenchman, Xavier Thomas, who is believed to have been thrown into the Thames by the impact of the attackers’ van. His body was found downstream. Overnight there have been three more arrests in Ilford, east London, in connection with the atrocity, and three more in the Manchester Arena bombing investigation.
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‘I need loyalty’ – James Comey, the FBI director fired by Donald Trump, has given a highly damaging summary of the president’s attempts to intrude on the Trump-Russia investigation. Comey’s written testimony for Congress tells how, across several conversations, the president repeatedly pressed Comey to offer his personal “loyalty”, asked the bureau chief to “let go” of the FBI’s investigation of Michael Flynn, and sought his help in “lifting the cloud” of allegations of Russian influence. Comey says he was forced to take steps to ensure the FBI’s investigation remained impartial. “Loyalty” and “the cloud” came up again in their last conversation before the president removed Comey from office. Trump faces claims he obstructed justice, which might constitute grounds for impeachment. Comey appears before the Senate intelligence committee later today.
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Old bones, new story – Modern humans may have been around much longer than we thought, according to archaeologists who found bones and sophisticated stone tools 300,000 years old down an old mine in Morocco. They come from individuals who would look just like our own kind if they were walking down the street today, say researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig.
Other scientists say this latest discovery at Jebel Irhoud, 100km outside Marrakesh, is exciting but not necessarily revolutionary. John Shea, an archaeologist at Stony Brook University in New York, says our ancestors from that period were a “diverse bunch” and “claiming these remains are Homo sapiens stretches the meaning of that term a bit”.
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Myanmar plane crash – Bodies and wreckage have been found this morning after a Burmese military transport aircraft carrying about 120 people was reported missing overnight. The Chinese-made Y-8 turboprop went down after taking off from the city of Myeik. The near-new plane had been carrying families of service personnel as well as 14 crew, according to authorities.
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‘Not really a beach person’ – A Spanish adventurer has told the Guardian how he liked climbing Everest so much that he decided to do it again a few days later. Killian Jornet, 29, made it to the top twice without fixed ropes or supplemental oxygen – tough enough to achieve even once. “As I was coming down after the first ascent, I thought, ‘I normally recover pretty well and if I’m OK and there’s a window of good weather I’ll give it another go.’ You have to make the most of it.” Then he flew home to Norway and ate a salad.
Lunchtime read: Your unmissable guide to election night
This is probably the handiest thing you can read over your sandwiches today (if you are planning an all-nighter, squeeze in a few double-shot lattes as well).
Rowena Mason from our politics desk has compiled an hour-by-hour guide, taking you through the close of polls and the release of exit polling, the declaration of the first results, and the cliffhangers and key seats to watch. Lots of nuggets of information, even if you’re not staying up for it all. See you at breakfast time on Friday, when hopefully we will know whether parliament has been won or hung.
Sport
We are now approaching the pointy end of the French Open and Andy Murray has clinched a semi‑final date with Stan Wawrinka via a sharp four-set victory over Japan’s Kei Nishikori. Novak Djokovic, on the other hand, might have felt his youth slip away from him entirely as he was blown off the court by three scintillating sets from Dominic Thiem. Boris Becker thinks the Serbian champion might need a new coach when Andre Agassi’s not around.
After slipping to a disappointing 22-16 defeat to the Blues, the Lions coach, Warren Gatland, has urged his side to cut down the number of penalties they’re conceding, reports Rob Kitson.
In cricket, Jos Buttler says England’s batsmen plan to fight fire with fire against Australia’s imposing Champions Trophy pace attack, while Vic Marks argues that Eoin Morgan’s attacking captaincy has been the cornerstone of the host nation’s success so far. In football, Daniel Taylor reports that England centre-back Chris Smalling is determined to prove Jose Mourinho wrong in his jibes about the defender’s bravery. Diego Costa, on the other hand, now firmly believes that Chelsea manager Antonio Conte wants him out of the frame altogether.
Business
There was a calm-before-the storm feel to financial markets overnight as traders awaited the outcome of the UK election, James Comey’s appearance before the Senate intelligence committee and the ECB’s monthly policy meeting. Shares were flat across the Asia-Pacific region despite strong trade figures from China showing forecast-busting rises in exports (8.7%) and imports (14.8%).
The pound has continued to recover some of the losses of the past week and is currently buying $1.295 and €1.151.
The papers
The Briefing owes thanks for time saved today to colleague Graham Ruddick, who has put together a detailed summary of the election day papers and the various press endorsements and campaigns. What follows is a summary of his summary.
The rightwing press have ganged up on Jeremy Corbyn in their election-day editions. The Sun has urged its readers not to “chuck Britain in the Cor-bin”, while the Daily Mail calls on voters to “reignite British spirit” by following its “tactical voting guide to boosting the Tories and Brexit”. The Times, which has endorsed Theresa May, reports a seven-point opinion poll lead for the Conservatives.
“Your country needs you,” says the Telegraph, above a picture of May at her final campaign stop in Birmingham. The FT says she is relying on her “bullish Brexit stance” to deliver the votes. The Express wants you to “Vote for May today”.
The Guardian is backing Labour – our splash tracks Corbyn and May’s “last pitch for votes”. The Mirror rails against “Lies, damned lies and Theresa May”, entreating voters not to choose “five more years of Tory broken promises”.
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The Snap
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