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| | Detail revealed on energy bill support | |  | | | | | | | | | It has long been touted that customers will get £400 off their energy bills this winter, with the government stepping in as prices soar. And now we know how this will happen. The support payment will be given to households in England, Scotland and Wales in six instalments, with a £66 discount in October and November, and then £67 a month from December to March. There will be equivalent funding for Northern Ireland, although there are no details yet as to how it will be distributed.
Customers in the rest of the UK who pay by card will see a discount applied to bills. Those on monthly or quarterly direct debit will have a reduction applied to those payments, or have the support payment refunded into their bank accounts. People with "smart" pre-payment devices will notice an automatic monthly top-up to their account. And those with older pre-payment devices will receive a discount voucher in the first week of each month - either by text, email or post - and must redeem them in person at top-up points, such as Post Offices. Charity National Energy Action wants ministers to ensure these two million or so households - often the most vulnerable - are informed so they don't "miss out on vouchers that could keep them warm in the coldest months".
The war in Ukraine continues to disrupt energy supplies, with European demand for alternatives to Russian gas forcing up prices. And yesterday, huge part-year profits posted by British Gas owner Centrica and fellow energy giant Shell led to calls for more help for UK customers. | | | | | |
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| | Xi and Biden exchange warnings on Taiwan | | | | | | | | | The presidents of the USA and China have held a two-hour call, taking in climate change, health security and what the White House described as a "direct" and "honest" conversation about Taiwan. The island sees itself as an independent, democratic country but China views it as a breakaway province. Beijing has not ruled out using force to impose "reunification". Joe Biden told his counterpart Xi Jinping the US strongly opposed any unilateral move to change Taiwan's status. There have been suggestions US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi might soon visit the island. And Beijing said Mr Xi warned Mr Biden to abide by the one-China principle - explained here - telling him: "Whoever plays with fire will get burned." It's not the first such warning, says our correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, but it's "difficult to see anything positive" from the call. | | | | | |
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| | Birmingham greets Commonwealth Games | | | | | | | | | Did you catch the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony last night? You can see our report for highlights of an event featuring a giant puppet of Shakespeare, dancing cars and a speech from Nobel peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai. It was a 10m animatronic bull that stole the show. The animal was hauled in on chains representing those used in the slave trade, by women dressed as the overworked chainmakers who created them during the industrial revolution. The performance was, of course, the precursor to 11 days of sporting action, starting with cycling, gymnastics, swimming and triathlon today.
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| | | | | | | | | | | It's highly unlikely. Only the TUC - the umbrella organisation for most UK unions - can coordinate a strike of this scale. The leader of the RMT rail union, Mick Lynch, says there are circumstances where he would call for this, but his union has only around 80,000 members. It would need much bigger unions, such as Unite, and those regarded as more moderate, such as Usdaw, on board if it were to succeed.
This does not mean we will not see lots of industrial action this year. On Thursday, Unite workers at the country's largest container port, Felixstowe, voted for strikes. But there is the potential for much more widespread action this autumn, with teaching and nursing unions, for example, unhappy with their below-inflation pay awards. | | | | | | | | | | | | Iain Watson | | Political correspondent | | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | Several papers lead on what the Daily Mirror calls "profits in misery" posted by energy giants British Gas and Shell. The Guardian quotes Trades Union Congress boss Frances O'Grady calling the hike in profits an "insult to the millions of working people struggling to get by because of soaring energy bills". The Daily Star pictures Centrica boss Chris O'Shea and Shell's Ben van Beurden above the headline: "Money-grabbing scumbags". Centrica has reinstated dividends while calling on the government to offer more support to households, the Financial Times reports. Read the review. | | | | | |
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| | | | | Diplomat Former ambassador to US Sir Christopher Meyer dies | | | | | | | Death Girl, 9, dies after suspected stabbing | | | | | | | Weather Forecasters abused over heatwave coverage | | | | | | | Wagatha Judgement due in libel case - here are possible outcomes | | | | | | |
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| | If you do one thing today | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | If you listen to one thing today | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | If you read one thing today | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | Need something different? | | | | | | | | | It's a day for TV nostalgia, as Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan join a host of former Neighbours cast members for the Aussie soap opera's final episode on Channel 5 later. We take a look at some of the best moments across the show's 37 years. And people have been bidding farewell to a much-loved actor who spent twice as long as that in showbusiness. Depending on your age, Bernard Cribbins could be a Carry On star, the voice of the Wombles or a Doctor Who character. But there's a fair chance he has read you a story, either via one of his 111 appearances on Jackanory or, latterly, on the CBeebies series Old Jack's Boat. Pick your favourite of his roles from our obituary. | | | | | |
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| | | | | 1981 Crowds of 600,000 people fill London's streets to glimpse Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer on their wedding day. Watch how we reported the event. | | | | | | |
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| | | Let us know what you think of this newsletter by emailing bbcnewsdaily@bbc.co.uk. If you’d like to recommend it to a friend, forward this email. New subscribers can sign up here. | | | | | |
