Tuesday morning news briefing: Boris Johnson’s big gamble

What's the mood in Downing Street? Boris Johnson's special advisor Dominic Cummings outside Number 10 yesterday
What's the mood in Downing Street? Boris Johnson's special adviser Dominic Cummings outside Number 10 yesterday Credit: Chris J Ratcliffe /Getty


'Nobody wants an election'... but it's planned for October 14

He has thrown down the gauntlet - but will it pay off? Boris Johnson will hold a snap general election on Monday, October 14 if Parliament votes to seize control of Brexit from him tonight. In a televised address outside No10, the Prime Minister warned Remainers that in "no circumstances" will he agree to another delay - meaning they will have to force him from Downing Street if they want to further postpone Brexit. As Gordon Rayner reports here, he said a defeat tonight will leave him with no choice but to call an election, "which I don't want and you don't want". With Parliament braced for one of its most tumultuous weeks, Chief Political Correspondent Christopher Hope has the inside story of how Mr Johnson was forced to make the biggest gamble of his political life.

It will be a historic parliamentary battle, but what exactly will MPs be voting on later? Tony Diver explains everything you need to do about the European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 6) Bill 2019 - aka the rebel attempt to extend Article 50. Europe Editor Peter Foster has exclusive insight on why all routes are leading to a no-deal Brexit, despite the war cabinet's professed hopes to the contrary. And here is cartoonist Matt's take on the public mood.

Junk food diet leaves teenager blind and deaf in UK first

A teenager has been left blind and deaf at 17 by a junk food diet depriving him of vital nutrients. The youth, from Bristol, developed nutritional optic neuropathy, which damages the optic nerve and is more commonly seen in malnourished children in developing countries, in what is believed to be a UK first. Lizzie Roberts has the full, extraordinary details - and how to avoid the condition.

Revealed: How the BBC sent secret messages during WW2

During the Second World War, when a young BBC radio assistant was handed a scratched disc to play on air, they did the helpful thing: swapped it for a different one. But the first record was actually a coded message for resistance fighters in Europe - and, by playing another, the assistant was unwittingly hampering the war effort. Arts and Entertainment Editor Anita Singh reports how the innocent mistake is revealed in a BBC archive of wartime material.

News briefing

Gallery: The big picture

Boris meets Babs | Boris Johnson greets Dame Barbara Windsor at a meeting about the "devastating state" of dementia care. Click through our picture editor's selection of the most striking images from around the world.

Veteran actress Barbara Windsor meets Prime Minister Boris Johnson at Downing Street Credit: Simon Dawson /Reuters


Editor's choice

  1. Holocaust secrets | How a battered suitcase finally unlocked my family's past
  2. Can you be a 'free-range human'? | How to escape the limits of your career cage
  3. Tax hacks | How an inheritance loophole put my two children through private school

Business and money briefing

Retail retirement | One of Sir Philip Green's key lieutenants has quit Arcadia after working for the retail tycoon for 25 years. David Shepherd, who climbed the ranks to chief operating officer, is retiring early. And, as Laura Onitareports, another resignation could also be on the cards.

Sport briefing

'This will be brutal' | With one day to go until the Ashes fourth test, Stuart Broad has warned that England are ready to rough up Australia again. Read on for more from Cricket News Correspondent Nick Hoult.

And finally...

'Britain doesn't love Python enough' | When the Monty Python team staged a reunion show in London five years ago, tickets sold out in less than a minute as fans clamoured to see their comedy heroes. But despite that response, John Cleese has claimed British people do not hold the show in sufficient affection - and complains of an "ingrained negativity".