Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 3 September 2023

1. Ministers ‘were warned on schools’

Headteachers in England are scrambling to find ways to reopen their schools after being told to shut buildings made with unsafe concrete. Many staff from the 104 affected schools are “busy rejigging timetables, seeking alternative classrooms and trying to rent temporary toilets”, said the BBC. Meanwhile, a senior civil servant told The Observer that “many alerts” on the issue crossed the education secretary’s desk, but the “dangerously complacent” government was more concerned with saving money.

2. ‘Blitzes’ fail to improve PM’s ratings

Weeks of “Tory policy blitzes” have failed to boost Rishi Sunak’s approval ratings, said The Observer. The latest Opinium survey showed the Tories have “failed to shift the dial in Sunak’s favour”, with the PM dropping two points in the past fortnight to a net score of -25% (24% approve, 49% disapprove). The Conservatives spent the summer focusing on specific policy areas they believed would “expose Labour’s weaknesses” – such as crime, immigration, health and schools.

3. Body cameras for Tesco staff

Tesco workers are to be offered body cameras due to a rise in violent attacks, said the supermarket’s chief executive. After the company saw physical assaults increase by a third since last year, Tesco boss Ken Murphy said the abuse his workers suffered was “heartbreaking”. The British Retail Consortium found abuse against retail staff had almost doubled compared to pre-Covid levels. “The pandemic has normalised appalling levels of violent and abusive behaviour against retail workers,” said a spokeswoman.

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4. Ukraine ‘breaches key line’

The Ukrainian military has claimed that its forces have decisively breached Russia’s first defensive line near Zaporizhzhia. After weeks of “painstaking mine clearance”, the troops “expect faster gains as they press the weaker second line”, said a general. He believes that Moscow had devoted 60% of its time and resources into building the first defensive line and only 20% into the second line because it had not expected Ukrainian forces to get through. The US has acknowledged the “notable progress” of the counteroffensive over the past few days.

5. Biden’s Florida trip overshadowed

Joe Biden has vowed to give Florida any support it needs to rebuild in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Idalia. The US president’s visit to the state was overshadowed by politics, because governor Ron DeSantis chose not to meet Biden on his trip after suggesting the president’s presence could hinder disaster response efforts. The governor’s decision not to meet Biden “caught the White House off guard”, said Reuters.

6. Hackers breach UK security

Hackers linked to Moscow have leaked top-secret security information on British military and intelligence sites, said The Mirror. The thousands of pages of data could “help criminals get into the HMNB Clyde nuclear submarine base, the Porton Down chemical weapon lab and a GCHQ listening post”, said the paper. The secret information has been placed on to the dark web, which can be accessed using special software. The government must explain why the information was “so vulnerable”, said Labour.

7. Tory donor switches to Labour

A major Tory donor will “open his wallet to Labour” in the run-up to the next election, said The Independent. In the “latest sign that support is ebbing away from Rishi Sunak”, Mohamed Amersi, who with his partner has donated £750,000 to the Conservatives, said he would donate to Labour because large parts of the UK were suffering from “huge problems”, including crime and unemployment. New analysis reveals the prime minister is being forced to rely on a “dwindling pool of donors”, said the paper.

8. BBC delayed Brexit vote news

The BBC held David Dimbleby back from announcing the result of the Brexit referendum, even after the outcome was clear. The former broadcaster said he had not prepared how he would reveal the momentous news, despite knowing which way the referendum had gone for most of the night. “The BBC, very fastidious about any results of a democratic vote, they wait until it’s absolutely impossible for it to be wrong”, he told the News Agents podcast. “And when it came I didn’t know what I was going to say really. I hadn’t thought about it.

9. North/South divide on beer prices

Drinkers face a deepening north-south divide on beer prices — with the cost of a pint in the centre of London three times higher than the cheapest towns. The average pint in Consett near Newcastle, is just £2.65 — a fraction of central London average of £6.63, said data group CGA. Experts said that varying business rates, rents, and wages are responsible for the vast price differences, with customers’ “willingness to pay” also playing a part.

10. Charles ‘disappointed Harry was a boy’

Charles was disappointed at having another boy when Harry was born, according to a new audio of Princess Diana. The late princess recorded a series of tapes and had them secretly delivered to author Andrew Morton. In one, she claimed that at Harry’s christening, Charles told her stepmother: “You know we were so disappointed, we thought it would be a girl.” She says her stepmother, Raine Spencer, replied: “You should realise how lucky you are to have a child that’s normal.”