Top story: Sticking to the programme
Good morning – it’s Warren Murray welcoming you back to the Briefing after the bank holiday.
Jeremy Paxman and Faisal Islam last night presided over a not-quite-debate on Sky and Channel 4 where Jeremy Corbyn surprised with a warmth and good humour that proved difficult to ruffle, while Theresa May stuck to her determination to appear dull but dependable.
The assessment overnight is that the Battle for No 10 programme is unlikely to have changed things very much, with pugnacious interrogator Jeremy Paxman unable to land a felling blow on either protagonist.
While we’re on politics – make sure you are getting the Snap, our daily election briefing, for lots more news and expert analysis. Read to the bottom for details.
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‘Angriest place I’ve ever been’ – Fallout has continued from the British Airways computer meltdown that left travellers stranded at Heathrow and Gatwick airports. Passengers have shared their frustration – plans ruined, baggage unable to be reclaimed, and “mosh pit” conditions in the departure hall while trying to sort it all out. The BA chief executive, Alex Cruz, explained the havoc was caused by a power surge that had a knock-on effect to all the airline’s systems. “We will make sure that nothing like this ever happens in British Airways again,” Cruz said, promising the airline would honour a compensation bill that is predicted to reach £100m.
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‘Freak accident’ – The zookeeper killed by a tiger in Cambridgeshire has been named as Rosa King, 33. Hamerton Zoo Park will remain closed today. Management said a “freak accident” led to the animal getting into the enclosure where King was working. An investigation is under way, with police saying there are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances and there was never a tiger on the loose.
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‘Very clear red line’ – France’s new president has muscled up to Vladimir Putin in their first encounter. Emmanuel Macron told his Russian counterpart that use of chemical weapons in Syria – by Russia’s ally the Assad regime or anyone else – would not be tolerated. After the two met at the Palace of Versailles, Macron was candid that they had been “extremely frank and direct” in their talks. He accused Russia Today and Sputnik news of spreading “slanderous falsehoods” while Putin denied Russia had tried to manipulate the French election.
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School’s ‘terror’ prize – Teachers involved in giving a “mostly likely to be a terrorist” award to a 13-year-old girl are being disciplined at a Texas school. Other pupils received the “most likely to be homeless in Guatemala” and the “white people” award. The teacher who handed them out told the class at Anthony Aguirre Junior High it was meant to be a joke but “might hurt feelings”. The local school district condemned it as “insensitive and offensive” while the principal apologised and said the matter was being investigated.
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You can stop wondering – The first review of Wonder Woman is in, and it isn’t a great one. Steve Rose finds little to raise the origin tale of Diana of Themyscira above previous DC Comics effort with their “over-earnestness, bludgeoning special effects and messy, often wildly implausible plot”.
Rose says Gal Gadot’s character is reduced to a “weaponised Smurfette” and little more than the “embodiment of Amazonian perfection” rather than a true female hero as she enters the theatre of the first world war on the side of a bunch of blokes. Two stars out of five.
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Lunchtime read: True cost of ‘free’ delivery
Your “free” delivery really isn’t. A courier has to bring that online purchase to your door – often under extreme pressure, while being paid less than minimum wage, and with little to speak of in the way of job security.
The average Briton spends a surprising £4,600 a year online, according to figures, and in the year 2025, 2.7bn parcels will be delivered. That’s a lot of overstuffed hatchbacks racing around the streets, driven by people like John, who delivers 80 parcels a day for a pittance to customers who “really don’t care as long as it’s cheap”. John and those like him are more victims of Britain’s “gig economy”, writes Robert Booth.
Sport
Huddersfield have reached the Premier League after a dramatic penalty shoot-out win over Reading. Arsenal’s board is expected to rubber-stamp a new two-year deal for Arsène Wenger.
Tiger Woods says medication, not alcohol, led to his Florida DUI arrest. Eoin Morgan has criticised the Lord’s pitch after England collapsed against South Africa. Andrey Kuznetsov says Andy Murray will rise above his recent poor form in the French Open. And Dan Biggar is eager to prove his worth for the Lions on and off the field in New Zealand.
Business
The UK markets will be coming back after a holiday break but China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are closed today. Other Asian indices are subdued – analysts point to concerns over the Greek bailout and possible early Italian elections.
James Woods, global investment analyst at Rivkin in Sydney, told Reuters: “The bailout payments are necessary to meet existing debt repayments due in July, so if Greece were to forgo this bailout payment the probability of a default would spike, reopening the discussion around a Grexit from the eurozone.”
The pound was buying US$1.28 and €1.15 overnight.
The papers
Front pages mostly divide their attention between the dreadful death of the zookeeper in Cambridgeshire and the outcome of the Battle for No 10 “programme” as we are resorting to calling it. The Mail says “Zoo girl mauled to death by tiger” while the Sun reports that victim Rosa King was 33.
The Guardian picks up on Corbyn declaring he is “not a dictator” – telling Jeremy Paxman that the Labour manifesto properly reflects the party view, not his own, on issues like Trident and the monarchy. The Telegraph declares that Corbyn “ducked the terror challenge” by fudging on whether he would use a drone strike overseas to stop another Manchester attack. May wooed the working class with a “tough line on Brexit”, says the Times. The i says it was a bruising TV debate – maybe they wrote the headline beforehand …
Other fronts: “Cop hunt for the bomber’s suitcase”, says the Mirror. And the Express dangles a different line: “Oily fish can beat dementia” (does it work for the tax as well?).
The Snap
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