Yahoo Movies Friday evening UK news briefing: Chris Pincher suspended by Tories
Evening briefing: Today's essential headlines
Protocol | Flavoured heated tobacco banned in NI but not rest of UK
Missing Cryptoqueen | FBI adds alleged fraudster to most wanted list
Traffic halted | Swarm of malfunctioning driverless taxis cause chaos
'Embarrassing' whiteness | Friends creator gives $4m in apology
World first | Venice to charge tourists to enter to battle overtourism
Tory MP suspended after drunken groping allegations
After a day of pressure amid another Pestminster scandal, the Prime Minister has caved.
Boris Johnson has agreed that the Conservative whip should be suspended from Chris Pincher while the MP is investigated by officials over allegations he drunkenly groped two men.
A formal complaint has been submitted about the behaviour of the MP for Tamworth to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme, the Telegraph understands, after a day of calls from senior Tory MPs for the whip to be removed.
As Mr Johnson met New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern today, it had been suggested he considered the matter closed.
Mr Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip last night following claims about his actions at a private members' club in London.
More here on this developing story as former housing minister Kelly Tolhurst has been appointed this evening to be Mr Pincher's replacement.
The string of sleaze scandals that have hit Mr Johnson's Government in recent months have drawn comparisons to Sir John Major's time in office.
Sir John's campaign for Britain to go "back to basics" as he focussed on decency and morals would soon open up his administration to charges of hypocrisy as more revelations emerged.
Dominic Penna weighs up how the scandals under the Johnson and Major premierships compare.
This is not the first time Mr Pincher has been criticised for alleged unsolicited approaches to other men but Tom Harris argues that closing Parliament's bars will not fix MPs' toxic drinking culture.
Covid cases across UK surge more than 30pc in a week
Famed for her zero-Covid strategy, New Zealand's leader Ms Ardern may be concerned at official data showing Covid infections have jumped by almost a third in a week in the UK, just as she has arrived for her official visit.
Around 2.3 million people across the country now have the virus, up by more than half a million – around 32pc – from the previous week.
Covid has not been this prevalent in the community since late April, but the current wave is still substantially less severe than the all-time peak of 4.9m infections during the omicron BA.2 wave earlier this year.
This graph shows how Covid cases in England have been on the rise.
Brexit not to blame for airport travel chaos, says HSBC
No doubt Ms Ardern will be grateful that she does not have to join the queues at Britain's airports which are wrecking family holiday plans.
Yet HSBC has said that Brexit is unlikely to be to blame for travel chaos at airports, as a shortage of aviation workers is worse in America and "at least as intense elsewhere in Europe".
Analysts at the bank noted that while it was "intuitive" to assume stricter immigration rules post-Brexit were the key driver of staffing shortages that have wreaked havoc on millions of British holidaymakers, it added that there was evidence to the contrary elsewhere in the world.
Meanwhile, British Airways has been forced to apologise over a "glitch" that bars women from using the title doctor when booking flights online. Read on for details of the complaint.
Comment and analysis
Ruth Dudley Edwards | Ireland knows its Nato neutrality is shameful
Kate Andrews | Britain is becoming Europe's sick man again
Benedict Rogers | Hong Kong is a warning to the West on China
Thomas Fink | Britain is rescuing academics from Putin's clutches
Matthew Lynn | Woke capitalism is busily destroying itself
Around the world: Sweden rebuffs Turkey's threat
Sweden has warned it would not entertain further concessions to secure Nato membership after Turkey threatened to derail Stockholm's hopes of accession. It came after Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, said Sweden must extradite 73 alleged terrorists to secure Turkey's permission to join the military alliance. Sweden swiftly rebuffed the calls. Russia has confirmed it has begun shipping grain from occupied territory in Ukraine. A vessel carrying 7,000 tonnes of cereal left the Russian-occupied port city of Berdyansk on Thursday to go to "friendly countries", a pro-Russian official said. It comes as it emerged Russia's new "patriotic" 100 rouble banknote is impossible to withdraw at ATMs because Western firms that programmed them have quit the country.
Friday interview
The truth about Mick, Rod, Ike and me
Singer PP Arnold's new memoir details her life as the 'plaything' of rock's biggest stars. She talks to Jasper Rees
Sport briefing: Watson reaches fourth round at SW19
It has been a milestone day for Heather Watson as she beat Kaja Juvan in straight sets to reach the fourth round of a major for the first time in her career. The 30-year-old recorded a 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 win, much to the delight of the watching Court One crowd, with fellow Briton Cameron Norrie aiming to emulate her later on Centre Court. Follow today's action live. England's bowlers have enjoyed the rain-delayed first day of the fifth Test against India. Our live blog has the latest. Lewis Hamilton backed down in his row with the FIA over jewellery by removing his nose stud ahead of the first practice session for the British Grand Prix. This is what happened when the cars took to the racetrack. As England's rugby stars prepare for the first Test, here are six ways they can beat the Wallabies.
Editor's choice
Katie Morley Investigates | 'Rogue mechanic stripped my £35k Mazda for parts'
James Bay | 'To be a man talking about mental health still doesn't feel accepted'
Hollywood famine | Where have all the family movies gone?
Business news: Meta hunts staff 'who shouldn't be here'
Facebook's parent company Meta is slashing hiring plans as Mark Zuckerberg warns of "one of the worst downturns in recent history". The social media giant plans to hire as much as 40pc fewer engineers than it had earlier predicted, amid an economic downturn and as privacy changes hit its advertising business. Mr Zuckerberg said many staff who leave will not be replaced and bosses will be encouraged to identify employees not pulling their weight. Elsewhere, inflation in the eurozone has surged to a fresh record high, piling more pressure on the EU to do more to tackle ballooning prices. Consumer prices jumped 8.6pc in June from a year earlier, up from 8.1pc in May. Read what fuelled the jump.
Tonight starts now
Stranger Things finale | After a compelling first volume of season four, with momentous events in both Hawkins, Indiana and the Upside Down, the second volume drops in two lengthy episodes (85 minutes and a whopping two hours, 30 minutes) to complete the series. Released in May, volume one became Netflix's most watched show, and even put Kate Bush back at the top of the charts after her 1985 song Running Up That Hill was featured. Read Chris Bennion's review of the audacious, fist-pumping finale and here are the rest of tonight's TV listings.
Three things for you
Music | Paolo Nutini's eccentric comeback – the week's best albums
Cinema | Minions: The Rise of Gru, review
And finally... for this evening's downtime
Travel experiences that cost you pennies | From viewing decks with sky high prices to historic sights that are free, read on for your guide to the world's most – and least – affordable attractions.
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